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ACA stays alive

By TIM GAYLE

Alabama Christian Academy’s softball team survived the first day of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state softball tournament. They’ll get ready for the second day with an early trip to the batting cages.

For only the fourth time in its 21 state tournament appearances, the Eagles dropped the opening game of the tournament, losing to Hale County 1-0. Alabama Christian has never gone two and out, so rebounding with a 2-0 win over Cherokee County gave the Eagles new life as they prepare for a Friday morning matchup with Bibb County.

“We still feel like we’ve got a chance if we’ll swing the bats,” ACA coach Chris Goodman said. “Our pitchers have given up one run in 14 innings. Our pitchers are doing their thing, we just have to find a way to get them some runs. Part of it is when you get to the state tournament, you face better pitching, but part of it is hitting is contagious. Both ways. It’s contagious when you’re hitting the ball and sometimes when you go into a slump, I’ve seen us all go into a slump. It’s the same team that was banging balls off the walls in Gulf Shores (in the regional) last week.”

Maybe, but this team did little to help itself on Thursday. While Hale County has won championships in 2A (in 2014) and 3A (2015 and 2016), veteran ace Savanna Holmes walked six and surrendered six hits, giving ACA plenty of opportunities to score runs.

“We stranded 11 on base,” Goodman said. “From the very first inning of the game, we left two. We can’t get a bunt down there. In the fifth, (Holmes) lays two changeups up there in the middle of the plate and we swing right through them. We so undisciplined at the plate we swing at (bad pitches) so you get beat 1-0 when your pitcher strikes out 15.”

ACA pitcher Haley Pittman struck out 15 and only allowed four hits, but one of those was a fourth-inning home run by Madalyn Langham.

“All she was throwing was outside, so we started toeing the line and it wasn’t really an outside pitch any more,” Langham said. “So I just knew I had to have a hard hit.”

Her shot over the left field fence was all it took because Holmes was able to escape from bases-loaded jams in both the fourth and fifth innings.

“I believe in my pitcher 100 percent,” Hale County coach Lori Wyatt said. “She’s awesome, she’s been here many times. She’s been on the big stage, she knows how to handle herself. She never gives in to pressure.”

In the fourth, Holmes got the first two outs before back-to-back singles by Christa Boswell and Natalie Faulkner, along with a walk to Baylee Perkins, loaded the bases. Holmes then struck out Haley Ingram to escape the jam. In the fifth, a single by Lacey Spear and back-to-back walks to Rose Costanza and Alyssa Clark loaded the bases before Holmes struck out Monica Willingham and got Boswell to fly out.

“I don’t know why but as a pitcher, I love throwing when the bases are loaded,” Holmes said. “I guess it’s because I know I have to be dialed in and I have to focus. I guess I’m way more focused in a 1-0 game because I have to be. If I mess up, it’s going to affect the entire game. So, yes, I’m focused and I know my defense is behind me so I can rely on them.”

Facing elimination, ACA (46-11) broke their tournament drought against the Warriors with a double by Faulkner and an RBI single by Ingram in the third and back-to-back triples by Baylee Perkins and Ingram in the fifth.

That was more than enough for Spear, who struck out 10 and only allowed two hits – a bloop single by Kendal Perry off of the glove of second baseman Perkins to lead off the game and a spinning infield grounder by Callie Garrett that eluded Costanza at third base in the fifth.

“My defense played great,” Spear said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch whenever you know you have people backing you up and when you have Alyssa Clark back behind the plate helps a lot. Your pitcher is only as good as your catcher is, so she helps a lot.”

Armed with new life – and a brisk workout in the batting cage on Friday morning – the Eagles are ready to resume play in the state tournament with a fresh outlook.

“We expected to have a good chance going into this,” Spear said. “We expected a lot of wins, but our bats didn’t come into play in the first game so we kind of had to refocus our mindset and not play like we were going to win, but play like we wanted to win.”

Macon repeats!

See full story in next week’s printed edition of The Montgomery Independent

By TIM GAYLE

In a title match involving two teams that hit the baseball, steal bases and score runs, it was pitching that took center stage in the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA state baseball tournament at Paterson Field on Tuesday afternoon.

The best-of-three series was settled in two games because of the efforts of Drew Baker and Tucker Neven, a pair of Macon East Academy pitchers that helped the Knights sweep Autauga 8-3 and 4-3 for their second consecutive state championship.

It was hard to be normal in the much-anticipated matchup between two of the state’s top AISA players, Baker and Autauga ace Jalon Long. After the first inning, Macon rallied with four runs in the third on Baker’s bunt single that scored Brock Taunton and Dustin Jones and Parker Agnew’s bunt single that scored Baker to give the Knights the lead.

“I expected it to be a dogfight, which it was,” Brock Taunton of Macon said. “In the first game, we got out front late and that (second) game was a dogfight the whole time. That’s a great team.”

In the second game, Neven (9-1) lowered his ERA from 2.18 to 1.92 with a complete-game performance that became unsettling for the Knights in the seventh inning when Agnew dropped a fly ball to center field that could have ended the game and allowed two unearned runs to score to pull Autauga within 4-3.

Autauga, which came in with five starters hitting over .350, managed just six hits off of Neven.

Taunton, a former Macon East student who was at Park Crossing last year, was part of a football program that reached the semifinals of the state playoffs before losing to eventual champion Escambia and won state titles in basketball and baseball.

“It’s been great,” he said. “I’m happy to be back over here at Macon East. We kind of planned it after we left Edgewood, to be honest, to leave for a year (transferring to Park Crossing) and then come over here for our junior and senior years and try to make a run for everything.”

Baseball

Macon East to seek repeat for AISA title

By ART PARKER

CECIL – Macon-East Academy Knights easily dispatched South Choctaw Academy 16-1 and 13-2 Wednesday. The sweep of the doubleheader now catapults the Knights into Paterson Field next week to play for the AISA AA Championship against Autauga Academy. Macon East is the defending state champion.

The Knights terrorized South Choctaw pitching all day and began the double header by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning. By the end of the second inning the Knights held a 9-0 lead.

A half-dozen runs came across the plate in the fourth inning with hits by Drew Baker, Kellen Ward, Parker Agnew, KC House, and J.C. Ceman and an error on a ball put in play by Dustin Jones. Macon-East Montgomery Academy Knights Varsity had 17 hits in the game

Baker was the winning pitcher retiring 10 on strikes and surrendering a trio of hits.

The second game proved to be more of the same. Macon-East scattered 13 hits in the game. Neven, KC House, Brock Taunton, Ceman, and Agnew each managed multiple hits. Neven went 3-for-4 at the plate and picked up the win in relief. Neven fanned a dozen batters.

The Knights improve to 37-8.

Softball

ACA wins 4A area tourney

By TIM GAYLE

Alabama Christian Academy softball coach Chris Goodman has never been fond of area tournaments.

“I absolutely hate this tournament,” Goodman said. “It’s hard to beat good teams three or four times in a year. It happened last year after Catholic had beaten LAMP four or five times (and then lost in the semifinals) and this year it turns around and LAMP had beaten Catholic four or five times and they turn it around. Anything can happen. That’s why you play the game. But it’s hard to convince 15, 16, 17 year old girls they have to bring it, night in and night out.”

Alabama Christian (42-10) repeated as 4A Area 4 champions, but struggled mightily before disposing of Catholic 3-1 at ACA’s Denise Ainsworth Field on Wednesday afternoon. Although the Eagles were never seriously threatened, they were never in control as they scratched out six hits against Catholic pitching.

“I thought we were close to blowing that thing open,” Goodman said. “We just didn’t get a hit when we needed it.”

Catholic (25-17) accomplished its goal earlier in the day, snapping a five-game losing streak to LAMP that dated back to the 2017 semifinals with an impressive 4-0 win over the Golden Tigers. LAMP, which had fallen from the winner’s bracket a day earlier after failing to get a hit in a 1-0 loss to ACA, managed just two against Catholic ace Alanna Aiken.

In the second game, nothing worked against ACA pitcher Lacey Spear, who held the Knights to three hits. The first of those was a double by Makenzie Norton in the fourth and Spear then threw wide of first base on a grounder back to the circle by Aiken, resulting in an unearned run. Three of ACA’s six hits came from leadoff batter Baylee Perkins, but even Perkins failed to advance the runner in her only out of the day when she popped up to second base in the sixth.

Both teams advance to the South Regional, where the top two teams will qualify for the state tournament at Lagoon Park the following week. Both teams will open play next Friday at 3 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. Catholic will face the Area 2 tournament winner, while ACA will face the runner-up. Area 2 consists of W.S. Neal, Escambia County and Monroe County. The other four teams in the tournament are Satsuma, Thomasville, Ashford and Dale County.

In the last game of the season for Saint James, senior night for their lone graduating team member Micala Fisanick, the Trojans had no trouble on offense, winning big over the Rams 10-4. Saint James started the scoring when Fisanick grounded out to score Hannah Grace Griggs. Fisanick, a Faulkner Basketball signee, then watched as her Lady Trojans put up 5 runs in the second. Recording RBI’s were Maddox Trumbly, Griggs, and Savannah Christian. Cameron Greene took the win pitching 4 innings. She allowed 2 hits, 2 runs, and 1 walk, striking out 2. KK Hall finished the game pitching 3 innings in relief. The Lady Trojans amassed 13 hits in the game. Trumbly and Ellie Streeton managed 2 doubles each as they both went 2 for 2 on the day. Fisanick had a great game defensively making spectacular catches in the outfield and, offensively, ripped a triple in the 4th inning in her last high school contest.

ACA ready to claim area title

BY TIM GAYLE

Alabama Christian pitcher Haley Pittman threw a no-hitter to lead the Lady Eagles into the finals of the Class 4A Area 4 tournament at Denise Ainsworth Field on Wednesday afternoon. Pittman’s no-hitter allowed ACA (41-10) to advance to the championship game with a 1-0 win over LAMP. It was the left hander’s second no-hitter of the season. She also had a no-hitter against LAMP in a regular-season matchup.

The Eagles managed just four hits off of LAMP ace Taylor Cassidy on Tuesday, but the big one was a two-out single by Haylee Ingram in the fifth to score Aniya Jackson with the game’s only run. LAMP dropped into the elimination round of the bracket and will face Catholic on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The winner will play ACA for the area title at 1 p.m. A second game, if necessary, will immediately follow.

Catholic defeated St. James 6-0. Alanna Aiken held the Trojans scoreless and a three-run fourth provided the insurance as the Knights rolled to a 6-0 win over St. James. Chloe Walden scored all of the runs Catholic would need in the third inning with a single, stealing second, advancing to third on a groundout and scoring on a single by Josie Blanks. In the fourth, Nikki Walker tripled in Aiken and scored on an RBI double by Katherine O’Connor. O’Connor later scored for a 4-0 lead. Makenzie Norton added an RBI single as part of a two-run fifth to add to the Knights’ lead. Catholic, which lost to LAMP on Monday, will face the Golden Tigers for the fifth time this season on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The two teams were in the same position a year ago when LAMP upset Catholic to reach the finals. Catholic advanced in the tournament by beating Trinity 12-2 in a six-inning contest earlier in the day, ending the Wildcats’ season.

St. James had advanced in the tournament by beating Trinity on Monday 12-2 as MaKenzie Corley went 2 for 4, Savannah Christian went 3 for 5 and Macie Wilson went 2 for 4 with a home run. Christian scattered five hits in six innings of work as both runs scored by Trinity were unearned. The Trojans (10-18) were shut out later in the day by Alabama Christian before their season came to an end on Tuesday against Catholic.

Boys soccer

Trinity disposed of Holtville 2-0. Jake Hufham and Luke Adams scored for the Wildcats and Adams is credited with an assist on Hufham’s goal.

Softball

Catholic fell behind early and couldn’t come back in a 9-1 loss to Tallassee. The Knights struggled to contain the high-powered offense of Tallassee. Alanna Aiken doubled on the first pitch of her at bat in the initial inning to drive home Catholic’s only run. Tallassee pulled away for good with 4 runs in the second inning. Catholic collected 4 hits on the day. Aiken and Aleigha Walden each racked up multiple hits. Catholic now stands at 15-13.

Macon sweeps Wilcox, moves to semi-final

By ART PARKER

Macon East continued its march toward another state championship by defeating Wilcox Academy in successive games, 6-0 and 17-5. Knights ace Drew Baker tossed a 2-hitter in the first game and did not surrender the hits until the seventh inning. “He has pitched really well, especially in his last five outings,” Macon East coach Bob Pickett said. “He has been placing his fast ball where he wants it and his curve ball has been getting over the plate.” Baker struck out 13 Wilcox batters in the first game.

Pickett said the first game was a confidence builder for the Knights especially since the team changed strategy for game two. ‘We played a lot of small ball in the first game. That’s what I thought we needed to do to win, and it worked for us. The second game I told them we were going out swinging and we hit the ball well,” Pickett explained. Macon East bashed Wilcox pitchers for a dozen hits in the second game. Tucker Neven got the win on the mound for the Knights.

Macon-East is enjoying another successful season at 35-8. The Knights will face either South Choctaw or Coosa Valley in the semi-final series.

Softball

Saint James would not be embarrassed again with a 20-0 loss to PCA as in the beginning of the season. The Panthers took the in the second inning, but never sent the scoreboard spinning, winning only 4-1 this time. Paisley Wilson got the win on the mound allowing one Trojan hit, one run, and 4 strike-outs. Trojan freshman pitcher Savannah Christian allowed 7 hits in 6 innings and took the loss. Hannah Grace Griggs scored the only run for Saint James starting on first after she was hit by a pitch and stealing around the bags until she hit home. Makenzie Corley recorded the Trojans only hit in the top of the fifth.

ACA fell behind early and couldn’t come back in a 12-2 loss to Prattville on Tuesday. Prattville scored on a single by Grace Pittman and a double by Emma Hindi in the first inning. The Eagles struggled to contain the high-powered offense of Prattville, giving up 12 runs. Townsend took the win for Prattville. She went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out two. Lacey Spear took the loss for Alabama Christian Academy Eagles Varsity. She allowed 11 hits and 12 runs over five innings, striking out four. Spear went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Alabama Christian Academy Eagles Varsity in hits.

Dadeville’s second batter of the game hit a home run in the first inning to spark what was to be a 10-3 victory Tuesday night at Saint James. Timarian Tinsley took the win for the Tigers allowing 6 hits and 3 runs. Macie Wilson and Savannah Christian evenly split the mound for the Trojans, each giving up 5 runs, striking out a pair and facing 19 batters. K.K. Hall, Saint James’ 7th grade ninth batter, led her team offensively with 2 hits in 3 at bats.

Softball

ACA defeated Wetumpka 12-7. The Eagles scored on a single by Haley Pittman in the first inning, a passed ball during Alyssa Clark’s at bat in the first inning, an error in the second inning, and a fielder’s choice by Haley Ingram in the second inning. After Wetumpka scored one run in the top of the fifth, ACA answered with one of their own. The Eagles then scored 3 runs in the sixth inning. Lawson Borland and Rose Costanza powered the big inning with RBIs. Pittman earned the win by going 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and striking out 7. Haley Cassidy threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen. ACA racked up 13 hits in the game. Pittman and Christa Boswell each managed multiple hits for ACA.

Catholic whipped Pike County behind no-hitter thrown by Alex Jolley. The Knights won easily 20-0. McKenzie Norton led Catholic to victory by driving in 4 runs. She went 2-for-3 at the plate. Norton drove in runs on a single in the first and a triple in the second. Catholic put up 16 runs in the second inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Katherine O’Connor, Chloe Walden, Alanna Aiken, and Walden, triples by Norton and Nona Johnson, a home run by Nikki Walker, by Aiken, a fielder’s choice by Josie Blanks, and a double by Carrie Belsterling. One of Walker’s hit was a home run and Aiken blasted a homer as well. Catholic had 17 hits on the day.

Catholic defeated Wicksburg 6-1. Alanna Aiken took the win for the Knights. She surrendered only one run on 3 hits on struck out 5 batters. Aleigha Walden led the Knights 2 hits in 2 at bats.

Catholic smashed Cottonwood 13-1 Saturday. Catholic scored 6 runs in the third inning. Nona Johnson, Josie Blanks, Aleigha Walden, McKenzie Norton, Alanna Aiken, and Katherine O’Connor each had RBIs in the frame. Alex Jolley was the winning pitcher allowing only one hit. Catholic had 15 hits in the game and swiped 14 bases.

ACA defeated Catholic 9-5 Thursday. ACA got things moving in the first inning, when an error scored two runs for ACA. The Eagles put up four runs in the third inning with a walk issued to

Baylee Perkins led ACA with 2 hits in the area match up with Catholic. (File photo)

Lacey Spear, a single by Alyssa Clark, a groundout by Rose Costanza, and a fielder’s choice by Christa Boswell. Spear earned the win for the Eagles and went the distance allowing 7 hits and 5 runs while striking out 12. Alanna Aiken took the loss for Catholic. Baylee Perkins went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead ACA. The Eagles had 8 hits on the day. Chloe Walden led Montgomery Catholic with two hits in two at bats.

Haley Pittman didn’t allow a run against LAMP throwing a complete game shutout and leading ACA to a 3-0 victory Tuesday. The pitching was strong on both sides. Pittman struck out 12, while Taylor Cassidy sat down three. ACA got things started in the second inning when Rose Costanza singled on the first pitch at bat, scoring one run. The Eagles racked up 9 hits on the day. Haley Ingram, Costanza, and Monica Willingham all collected multiple hits for ACA.

Catholic romped over Elmore County 13-1 Monday. In the first inning the Knights scored a couple of runs on errors. Catholic put 5 five runs on the board in the third inning. The offensive firepower by Catholic was led by Carrie Belsterling, Katherine O’Connor, Nikki Walker, and Nona Johnson, all driving in runs in the inning. Alex Jolley earned the victory on the pitcher’s mound for the Knights. She went 5 innings, allowing one run on 4 hits and striking out 3. Catholic had nine hits in the game. Walker and Aleigha Walden all collected multiple hits for the Knights. Josie Blanks swiped 3 bases for Catholic as the Knights tallied 9 steals in the game.

Catholic ran off with the lead late in the game in a 6-3 victory over St. James on Tuesday. The game was tied at 3 with Catholic batting in the top of the sixth when Chloe Walden tripled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring a run. St. James scored 3 runs in the fifth inning, but Catholic still managed to pull out the victory. Alanna Aiken was the winning pitcher for Catholic. The Knights Varsity totaled 9 hits in the game. Chloe Walden and Aleigha Walden each managed multiple hits. Catholic is 12-9 overall in 2018.

Girls soccer

Prattville Christian shut out Elmore County 2-0. Jaime Drouin led the #8 ranked Lady Panthers by scoring 1 goal, her 60th of her career, as PCA improves to 8-2-1 on the season. Kyla Genenbacher also added 1 goal. Jenna Brooke Warlick and Kendall Holt each added 1 assist.

Saint James whipped Stanhope Elmore 8-4 Monday. Shaw Woodson had 3 hits and a RBI for the Trojans. Wilson Carter had a RBI and got the win on the mound. Saint James ends the regular season 26-4 and will host Satsuma in the first round on Friday.

Prattville Christian walloped Montevallo 6-0. Jaime Drouin led the Lady Panthers with 3 goals scored and has now scored 59 career goals. Jenna Brooke Warlick and Kyla Genenbacher each scored 1 goal and had 1 assist. Jenna Stilling and Lydia Brackins also added 1 assist each. Rachel Stephenson recorded the shutout as PCA improves to 7-2-1 on the season.

Softball

Saint James dropped a pair of games and won one another this weekend. The Trojans lost to Marbury 6-2 and to Bibb County 7-2. Saint James did defeat Horseshoe Bend 12-0 with Macie Wilson on the mound and at the plate. She pitched a shutout and went 4 for 4. The Trojans secured the victory thanks to 8 runs in the fifth and last inning. Big bats by Wilson, Savannah Christian, Micala Fisanick, Cameron Greene, and Morgan Parish all sent runs over the plate in the inning. Wilson allowed 6 hits and struck out one. The Trojans recorded 12 hits in the game. Fisanick homered over the left field fence in the fourth inning.

Catholic softball suffered several losses lately. The Knights lost to area rival LAMP 10-3, to Holtville 7-6 and to Bibb County 5-0. Catholic did pick up a couple of wins last week, the first against Marbury. Carissa Gilbert threw a gem and recorded a 2-hit shutout as the Knights defeated the Bulldogs 4-0. Nikki Walker led Catholic with a pair of hits. The Knights played errorless ball against Marbury.

Catholic defeated Horseshoe Bend 2-0 as Gilbert and Alex Jolley combind for a no-hitter. Carrie Belsterling’s sacrifice fly in the first inning put the Knights aheads to stay. Catholic racked up six hits on the day. Aleigha Walden and Nona Johnson managed multiple hits.

Baseball

Edgewood update: This past week we the Wildcats swept Bessemer Academy in a double header, 12-1, 2-1 to secure the number 2 seed in the area and a first round playoff series at home vs Springwood School on Friday. Wildcats are 20-21 for the season.

Softball

Saint James nabbed the lead late in a game with Trinity securing a 14-9 victory Thursday night. The game was tied at 8 in the fifth when senior Micala Fisanik singled on an 0-2 count to score 2 runs. The base paths were crowded in this high scoring game. Saint James amassed 14 hits while Trinity had 11. Hannah Grace Griggs, Bellah Bright, and K.K. Hall led the Trojans with 2 hits each. Miller Johnson and Mackenzie Avant had 3 hits each for the Wildcats while Lily Windham had 2. Macie Wilson started on the mound for Saint James and pitched 4 innings, striking out 2. Savannah Christian is credited with the win coming in relief for the last 3 innings. Linda Hill took the loss for Trinity pitching 4 2/3 innings. Together with Avant, 5 Trojans were sent back to the bench with strike outs.

Saint James finished their regular season by beating Section foe Charles Henderson 9-0 and 7A Auburn High 8-1. Senior Captain Ella Skier commented on the momentum this builds before Sectionals and State,”I am very optimistic about my last tournaments with this team. We have been a little inconsistent this year, but we are ready for the challenge!” Saint James hopes to be a factor at this year’s 4-5A State Championship in Mobile. Last year they finished a disappointing 5th after finishing as Runner-up in 2016.

Boys soccer

Montgomery Academy defeated 1A-3A top-ranked Bayside Academy Friday night by a score of 4-2 at Hutchinson Field on the MA campus. MA started fast with tremendous defensive play before Sophomore Thomas Rizzo scored the opening goal of the game. Senior Jack Mozingo added the second goal of the first period, and sophomore Jiwon Lee scored on an impressive header late in the first half to give MA a 3-0 lead and all of the game’s momentum at intermission. Sophomore Femi Adediji would complete MA’s scoring in the second half on a penalty kick. Freshman Goal Keeper Stewart Miller played an excellent game, defending 14 shots on goal with 9 saves, while only allowing two scores late in the game.

Saint James wins cliffhanger, takes area

By ART PARKER

Saint James Carson Howard a very good day in the field and throws out another Wildcat after a ground ball.Photo: Art Parker

The words that best describe the showdown between Saint James and Trinity on Thursday came from Trinity coach Ken Whittle. “A great baseball game. It was one of those games that whoever made the first big mistake would lose,” the Wildcats coach said. “And we made it.”

The Trojans won the 4A area with a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats but it took seven innings to get the decisive run. Trojans starting pitcher T.R. Robertson led off in the top of the seventh with nothing but goose eggs on the board. Robertson pulled off a monumental surprise by dropping down a bunt with an infield playing at normal depth. “I saw them expecting anything but a bunt and decided to try and lay one down. It worked. What’s funny is that it is the first bunt I’ve had all season,” Robertson explained. The throw to first base trying to get Robertson was off target and bounced into foul territory. Robertson moved to second base on the error and then proceeded to third base on a wild pitch while teammate Matthew Robinson was at the plate. It looked like Wildcats starting pitcher Camden Lovrich would get out of the jam after retiring a couple of Trojans, but Josh Garnett hit a textbook Texas Leaguer into short centerfield and the Trojans were up 1-0 with only a half-inning remaining.

Robertson, who gets better the longer he goes, put the Wildcats down in order in the final frame and the Trojans became area champions. “He was on today. He was still throwing real hard late in the game and his curve ball was effective. He did everything we needed him to do,” Trojans catcher Jackson Howard said afterwards.

Trojans coach Keith Lucky had high praise for his pitcher but was quick to say that Trinity’s Lovrich pitched well also. “This was a real pitcher’s duel. This was great baseball. Both those guys pitched very good and both teams fought as hard as they could,” Lucky said. Lovrich gave up only 3 hits but none until the sixth inning. The first two batters to reach base were picked off by Lovrich.

Saint James (23-4) will have the luxury of playing at home in the first round of the playoffs next week. Trinity will have to travel south to the Mobile

Macon-East defeated Lowndes in the second game of the double Header 3-2. Tucker Neven allowed just five hits and picked up the win with 7 strike outs.

The big blow for the Knights came in the third inning when Kellen Ward homered on a 1-0 count, scoring two runs. Baker was 2-2 on the day. John Morgan went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Lowndes Academy in hits. The Knights clinched area and get a bye the first round of playoffs and will host the second round. The Knights improve to 30-7 on the season.

Softball

Haley Pittman was bad news for Stanhope Elmore leading ACA to an 11-4 victory with 5 hits. Pittman drove in runs on a single in the third, a single in the fourth, and a single in the fifth. Lacey Spear was the winning pitcher for ACA and allowed 3 hits and 4 runs over seven innings. Spear struck out 11 Mustangs. The Eagles had a dozen hits on the day. In addition to Pittman, Baylee Perkins, Christa Boswell and Haley Ingram all collected multiple hits. The Eagles are now 28-5 on the season.

Catholic overcame an early Saint James lead to win 6-5 in area competition. Despite allowing four runs in the first inning the Knights came back with 11 hits to crank up the offense and take the area contest. Jessie Clark, Nona Johnson, Aleigha Walden, and Katherine O’Connor all had multiple hits for Catholic. Clark went 3-for-3 at the plate. Alanna Aiken was credited with the victory and struck out 8 Trojans.

Catholic romped over Trinity 13-1. The Knights scored five runs in the second inning. Alanna Aiken, Jessie Clark, Nikki Walker, Katherine O’Connor, and Chloe Walden each had RBIs in the big inning. Aiken picked up another win on the mound. Carissa Gilbert threw three innings in relief out of the bullpen. Catholic had 14 hits in the game. Carrie Belsterling, Walden, Aiken, and Walker each had multiple hits. Belsterling was 3-3 on the day, Josie Blanks collected a pair of stolen bases.

ACA won the Enterprise Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles defeated Enterprise in the final game 4-2. Haley Pittman was credited with the victory. She went 6 innings, allowing one run on 3 hits and striking out 12. Christa Boswell, Rose Costanza, Pittman, and Haley Ingram each managed one hit to lead ACA. ACA also defeated Slocomb 4-2 when Aniya Jackson belted a walk off home run. The Eagles defeated Geneva 2-1 courtesy of a triple by Haley Ingram in the sixth inning. The Eagles defeated Providence Christian earlier in the tournament 9-1. The Eagles ruin the day for their opponents with 8 runs in the fourth inning. The offensive onslaught by Rose Costanza, Monica Willingham, Ingram, Lacey Spear, and Christa Boswell, who all drove in runs. The Eagles whipped Slocomb to start the tournament 10-2. Lacey Spear fanned 7 batters to get the win. ACA racked up 9 hits on the day. Willingham and Boswell managed multiple hits for the Eagles. ACA now stands at 27-5 for the season.

Macon-East won 3 of 4 in the Tennessee Tournament over the weekend. The Knights defeated William Blount 7-0 behind a Taylor McKinney shutout. Emi Lott, Kayle Bell, Caroline Capps, Dawn Johnson, and Madison McKee each collected one hit to lead Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity. Caroline Capps threw a shutout to lead Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity past Volunteer Academy 10-0. The Knight pounded Volunteer for 8 runs in fourth inning. Madisyn Kennedy, Johnson, Kadence Ward, Lott, and McKinney all drove in runs in the frame. Macon-East smacked a pair of home runs on the day. Kennedy had a four bagger in the third inning. Johnson had a long ball in the fourth inning. Macon defeated Walker Valley 4-1. McKinney’s home run blast helped Capps to get another win on the mound. Kennedy went 2-for-2 at the plate.

Trinity crushed BTW 8-2. Wildcats goals came from Luke Adams with a hat trick (one goal assist by Thomas Helms). Scott Chesnutt with 2 goals. Thomas Helms and Nexton Marshall also had goals. James Newsome scored on an assist from Collier Wilson.

Prattville Christian easily defeated Ellwood Christian 16-1. Matt Vaughn led the Panthers with 3 assists and scored a goal as PCA improves to 7-4-1 on the season and 4-0 in area play. Austin Eagerton added 2 goals and an assist. Nick Mullins and Jacob Trotter each scored 2 goals. Sasha Scully, Charlie Grete, and Carson Roberson all added a goal and an assist. Addison Arnold, Andrew Clem, Ben Miers, Trent Jorgensen, Ryan Hatfield, and Joshua Forte all scored a goal. Michael McCarty added an assist.

Baseball

PCA secured a 5-4 victory over Montgomery Academy on Friday night that served as the tiebreaker for both teams should they finish tied atop the area standings. Montgomery Academy (8-13) and Prattville Christian (16-9) are both 3-1 in the area

MA’s Mason Young is congratulated by teammates after his game winning hit. (Photo: Tim Gayle)

race, with MA closing out on Thursday and Friday with Montevallo and PCA closing out with Southside-Selma. Preston Cox picked up his seventh win on Thursday in Prattville as the Panthers edged MA, 4-3. Cooper Meadows, Connor Coiro and Cox all delivered huge RBI hits to turn back the Eagles. On Friday, the scene shifted to Bowman Field. MA junior Landon Meadows matched PCA ace Tyler Bell inning for inning as the game remained scoreless going into the seventh. Bell had allowed just one hit – a squibber back to the mound that rolled off his glove in the first – before CJ Paymon ripped a pitch deep to center field for a double and his second hit of the day. After Simmons was intentionally walked, Mason Young singled to left to drive in Paymon with the only run of the game. Meadows, facing the biggest game of his career, scattered five hits and walked one, but struck out 15 to keep the game scoreless until the seventh.

Macon East whipped Eastwood Christian 12-4 Saturday. Kellen Ward drove in 5 runs on 2 two hits. Ward drove in runs on a home run in the third, a double in the fifth, and a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Macon-East scored 4 runs in the fifth inning. The offensive onslaught was led by Ward, K.C. House, and Wes Pugh, all driving in runs in the frame. Tucker Neven earned the victory on the pitcher’s mound and fanned 6 batters. The Knights are 28-7 on the season

Boys Soccer

Montgomery Academy and Trinity battled to a 2-2 tie. For Trinity goals were scored by Luke Adams and Sam Farris. Those same Wildcats had assists in the game.

Girls soccer

Prattville Christian shutout Wetumpka 2-0 on Friday. Jaime Drouin led the Lady Panthers with 2 goals scored as PCA improves to 5-1-1 on the season. Kyla Genenbacher and Kendall Holt each had 1 assist. Rachel Stephenson recorded the shutout.

Boys soccer

Prattville Christian went above .500 with a 2-0 win over Heritage Christian. Michael McCarty and Andrew Clem led the Panthers as they each scored a goal. Jake Davis and Sasha Scully each had one assist as PCA improves to 5-4-1 on the season. Nick Mullins recorded the shutout.

Baseball

After dropping the opening game of the series, Catholic came back to take the second game over Trinity 4-1. Trinity rebounded in the second game to win 11-1 and set up the series with Saint James for the area championship. Winning pitcher in second game was Tyler Britton. Leading hitters for Trinity were Chantz Henry going 2-2 with 2 runs driven in. Jon Eric Bodin was 1-2 with 2 RBI while Will Aaron was 3 for 3 with 3 runs batted in. Jackson Davis had one hit with 3 RBIs.

The Trinity girls’ JV tennis team competed in the McGill-Toolen tennis tournament in Mobile March 23-24. The Trinity JV team won the tournament in the C division defeating Theodore 8-1 and Satsuma 8-1. In the championship match, the Lady Wildcats defeated McGill-Toolen 5-4 in an exciting match that was decided in the last doubles match of the day. Players competing in the tournament were sophomores Ellie Slawson, Payton Taylor and Rylee Tucker; freshmen Hollister Dorey, Mary Liz Hill, Olivia Reid; 8th graders Stella Kate Grayson and Sydney Speagle; and 7th graders Katharine Moore and Ansley Tucker. The team is coached by Chera Davis.

Girls tennis

The Saint James Trojans were starting to build some momentum coming off of 2 big wins against an excellent Trinity team and a solid LAMP team. The Lady Trojans wanted to build even more confidence against MA, but MA was to tough prevailing 6-3. MA came out of doubles up 2-1 which forced STJ to need 4 singles out of 6 to

MA’s Jenna Chandler returns a volley in a doubles match with the

come back and win. It was not meant to be. The Trojans did have excellent performances from Sue Richardson and lone Senior Ella Skier. They combined to win all 3 of the Trojans points. Saint James will look to come back strong next week against Charles Henderson and Auburn High School. Coach Geoff Waring commented that “We are still undefeated in our Section and have a lot to play for. We are disappointed to lose to MA, but we will get back to work and find a way to improve our mental game, and get back to winning 2 out of 3 in doubles, which is a Trojan tradition.”

Winning singles for MA were Caroline Deale, Jenna Chandler, May Sharma and Ann Cobern Chapman. Doubles winners for the Eagles were Deale/Chandler and Sharma/Chapman.

Johnston. Doubles winners were Teel/Easterling, Vermillion/Anne Catharine Logan, and Rivers Dorey/Mary Ann Pittman. The Lady Wildcats are 11-3. Trinity will play Holtville Saturday, Montgomery Academy on Monday and Briarwood to complete up the regular season. The Section tournament is April 17 at Valley and the State Tournament is April 23-24 in Mobile.

Boys tennis

MA’s William Robertson returns a volley in his singles match (Photo: Art Parker)

Montgomery Academy defeated Saint James 7-2 Thursday at Lagoon Parkway. Singles winners for MA were James Torbert, Dallon Wallis, Hamilton Chapman and Whit Davis. Doubles Winners for MA were Torbert / William Robertson, Wallis / Will Peeples and Hamilton Chapman / Whit David. Wallis came from far back to win his singles match and then combined with doubles partner Will Peebles to overcome a deficit and win their match in a tie breaker. “It was a great effort today for Dallon and Will. To come back like they did showed a lot of character,” MA coach David Bethea said. Singles Winners for Saint James were J.B Ramsey and Ryan Jeong. MA now stands at 9-3 for the season.

Macon-East sailed to an easy victory over Cocke County on Friday, 9-3, while

Macon-East’s Madysin Kennedy was one of three Knights to homer against Cocke County (File Photo)

playing in a tournament in Tennessee. Macon-East pulled away for good with three runs in the third inning. In that inning Dawn Johnson homered on a 0-1 count, scoring two runs and Caroline Capps hit a solo homer. Madisyn Kennedy also homered for the Knights. Capps got the win on the hill allowing 8 hits and a pair of runs over 5 innings. Macon-East totaled 12 hits on the day. T.J. James, Johnson, Taylor McKinney, and Madison McKee each collected multiple hits. Johnson and James each collected three hits for the Knights.

ACA collected a win over Central-Phenix City Thursday, 5-1. The Eagles big inning came in the sixth when they scored a trio of runs highlighted by a home run by Rose Costanza. Haley Pittman got the win for ACA. She surrendered one run on 5 hits over 7, striking out 12. ACA had 9 hits in the game. Haley Ingram, Costanza, and Lacey Spear all managed multiple hits. The Eagles are now 23-4.

LAMP clobbered Saint James 8-0 on Thursday thanks in part to a 3 run homer by Taylor Cassidy and a 2 run homer by Caroline Baker. Cassidy got the call on mound and answered by striking out 7 Trojans and allowing only 2 hits, one by Morgan Parish in the first inning and one by Macie Wilson later in the game.

Softball

ACA flexes muscles, stomps LAMP

By TIM GAYLE

It was supposed to be a battle for area supremacy.

After five walks and five errors led to five unearned runs, what had been a tight battle between Alabama Christian Academy and LAMP turned into another rout for the Eagles on Tuesday as they moved a step closer to taking the top seed in the 4A Area 4 race.

ACA’s Monica Willingham is tagged out in a close play at second against LAMP. (Photo: Tim Gayle)

LAMP ace Taylor Cassidy held her own through the ACA lineup but errors left the Golden Tigers facing an uphill battle.

ACA pitcher Haley Pittman, meanwhile, was on top of her game, striking out seven of the 13 batters she would face. Two of those batters reached base as Peyton Cely went to third on a wild pitch third strike but was later thrown out on another wild pitch as she went to third and Madison Lockwood was hit by a pitch.

Pittman’s no-hitter was more than enough, but a 12-hit attack by ACA batters sealed LAMP’s fate. Throw in a few walks and some costly errors and the Golden Tigers’ first area loss wasn’t a pretty sight in a 17-0 rout.

“Every day at practice, I see what I see and right now I’ve got a bunch of young girls who don’t understand leadership,” LAMP coach Anthony Norris said. “They’re choking on routine plays and when you play a state-ranked team like ACA, you’ve got to make the routine plays and then you’ve got to have something go your way.

“The flip side to that is if you are dropping fly balls in the outfield and missing ground balls, you don’t have a chance to win if you extend innings against a quality team and that’s what we’re doing right now. The games we have won, we have made those errors but still outhit the other team and we can’t outhit ACA.”

ACA (22-4) got on the scoreboard in the second inning with an unearned run following an error and added another run with the help of an error before Hayley Ingram’s two-run single made it 4-0. That would have been enough for ACA to improve to 6-0 in area play, but the floodgates opened in the fourth inning as LAMP unraveled and surrendered 13 runs to end the game in the fourth on the 15-run mercy rule.

“As long as Taylor’s on the mound, they’re tough,” ACA coach Chris Goodman said. “They’ve got a few girls in there that can swing the bats. We got to Taylor a little bit, got a few timely hits and scored a few runs. Anthony got her out of there pretty quick because he didn’t want us to see her.”

Singles by Baylee Perkins, Pittman and Lacey Spear to lead off the bottom of the fourth was enough for Norris, who pulled Cassidy and replaced her with Peyton Cely. After a walk to Ingram, Rose Costanza followed with a two-run single and the Golden Tigers never recovered.

“Coach Goodman makes it clear when we have an area game, we’re here for business only,” ACA catcher Natalie Faulkner said. “And we know that. We don’t play around when it comes to area. A couple of years ago, we slipped up in the area. I don’t think we’ll let that happen again.”

Faulkner, Pittman, Krista Boswell and Ingram all went 2 for 3, while Perkins went 2 for 4. The two teams meet again on April 17 at Lagoon Park and again in the area tournament at the end of the season.

Baseball

Drew Baker homered in Macon-East’s win over Abbeville (File photo)

Macon-East recorded a big win over Abbeville Christian on Monday 15-2. Drew Baker started the onslaught with a 2 run homer in the first inning. The Knights then scored 6 runs in the third inning. Kellen Ward, Brock Taunton, Wes Pugh, and Dustin Jones all drove in runs in the big innings. , who each had RBIs in the inning. Tucker Neven also homered later in the game. Nick Fitzgerald took the win for Macon-East and fanned 9 batters in the process. The Knights had collected 11 hits on the day. The Knights improve to 27-5 on the season.

Macon-East watched their game with Lowndes slip away early and couldn’t recover in a 2-1 loss. Lowndes scored on a double by Mason McCurdy and a wild pitch by Will Cannon in the first inning. Tyler Franklin pitched Lowndes Academy to victory. He went 5 innings, allowing one run on four hits and walking zero. Jon Johnson threw 2 innings in relief out of the bullpen. Tucker Neven took the loss for the Knights. He allowed one hit and 2 runs over two-thirds of an inning, striking out one. Parker Agnew led Macon-East with 2 hits in 3 at bats.

Trinity whipped Marbury 12 to 5. Winning pitcher was Edward Rutland walk 2 and struck out 6. Leading hitters were Trace Bright 2 for 3 a homer and a double with 2 RBI, Nolan Sasser 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and Edward Rutland 2 for 3. Trinity plays Catholic Thursday at 4:00 at Catholic.

ACA allowed three unearned runs in the sixth and seventh innings as Stanhope Elmore beat the Eagles 6-3 Monday night. Ford Hilyer was 3-4 for ACA, including an RBI double, and scored a run. John Thompson also doubled for ACA. Taylor Manning had a single. ACA falls to 14-8 on the year.

Softball

ACA clobbered LAMP Tuesday 17-0 and improved to 22-4. Thirteen batters faced Haley Pittman and not a single one could touch her. A no hitter, which included 7 strikeouts, led the Eagles to another victory. ACA secured the victory thanks to 13 runs in the fourth inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Pittman, Lacey Spear, Rose Costanza, Natalie Faulkner, and Haley Cassidy, an error on a ball put in play by Haley Ingram and Mira Clark, a sacrifice fly by Monica Willingham, and a double by Christa Boswell. ACA racked up 12 hits on the day. Boswell, Pittman, Baylee Perkins, and Faulkner all collected multiple hits.

ACA made short work of Saint James, 16-1 and the game was called 3 innings due to the 15 run mercy rule. Lacey Spear gave up one hit and 3 walks in a very dominating performance. She had 6 strike outs. Baylee Perkins had 4 hits Haley Ingram and Haley Pittman both had 3 hits each. Ingram hit her first first home run of the season. Ingram and Rose Costanza had 3 RBIs each and Baylee Perkins had a pair of runs driven in. The Eagles are at 20-4.

Boys tennis

LAMP defeated Saint James at the O’Connor Tennis Center 6-3. LAMP singles winners were Jaemin Kim, Dishan Chandrasoma, Felix Wang and Eric Mesina. Single winners for Saint James were J.B. Ramsey and Sam Prickett. LAMP doubles winners were Kim/Mesina and Chandrasoma / Jeon. Prickett/Seale won for the Trojans.

Prattville Christian shutout Marbury 4-0. Jaime Drouin and Jenna Brooke Warlick each led the Panthers with 2 goals scored apiece. Brooke Callicott and Amber Gay each recorded 1 assist as PCA improves to 4-1-1 on the season. Rachel Stephenson and Tori DeMaio combined for the shutout.

Alabama Christian won 3 of 4 games in the Sparkman Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles shutout Lauderdale County 2-0; smashed Cullman 12-3 and shutout Tuscaloosa County 4-0. The only loss came to Hartselle in a close 3-2 decision.

Haley Pittman tossed both shutouts striking out a dozen against Lauderdale County and mowing down 16 against Tuscaloosa County. Lacey Spear got the win against Cullman with 7 strikeouts.

In the loss to Hartselle, the Eagles lost the lead late in the game when Hartselle homered. Christa Boswell and Spear each collected multiple hits for ACA.

ACA opened the tournament with the win over Tuscaloosa County 4-0. Ingram was 2-for-3 at the plate and ACA played errorless ball in the field. ACA now stands at an impressive 18-3 for the season.

Baseball

Saint James is now the team to beat in the local 4A area

Saint James Mitchell Madore was in full control over ACA giving up only one hit in seven innings. (Photo: Tim Gayle)

after taking the weekend series with ACA. In the first two games the Trojans shutout the Eagles 4-0 and 6-0 behind the pitching of T.R. Robertson and Mitchell Madore. The wins guaranteed the Trojans (6-0 in area play) can finish no lower than second in the area race pending the outcome of the April 12-13 best-of-three series between Trinity and St. James. The Wildcats are currently second in the area at 4-0.

Robertson gave up a pair of hits on Friday and Madore surrendered only one hit and nullified any ACA offense on Saturday. On Saturday St. James struck for three runs in the third inning with a two-run single by Stephen Sadie, followed by an RBI single by Jackson Hammock. Josh Garnett, who went 3 for 3, scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning to make it 4-0 and finished off the Eagles with a two-run double to center field in the fifth inning.

Robertson and Carson Howard each had a pair of hits and Sadie drove in a pair of runs as four ACA errors led to four unearned runs on Friday.

The two teams played a second game on Saturday which had no bearing on the area race, but was significant in that ACA’s 8-4 victory snapped a 12-game winning streak by the Trojans (18-4).

Trinity swept LAMP this week in a key 4A Area match up. The Wildcats won 10-7 Wednesday afternoon at Paterson Field. On Friday, The Wildcats won the first of a

doubleheader 10-1 and took the second game 11-0. Trace Bright and Camden Lovrich won the first 2 games on the mound respectively. Lovrich gave up only one hit in the series deciding second game. Lovrich struck out 12 batters, including seven who were called out looking at a third strike. Bright had an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the fourth. Lovrich had an RBI double in the fourth and scored three times. Chantz Henry had a two-run triple in the fifth.

Wednesday’s game turned scary when LAMP starter Philip Julian was struck in the face with a line drive. The senior was rushed first to Jackson Hospital, then to UAB after the pitch fractured both orbital sockets. Surgery was delayed until the swelling subsided and amazingly he made the trip to Trinity on Friday to watch his team play.

Saint James defeated ACA 4-0 in the first game of an area series Friday. T.R. Robertson pitched a complete game shutout allowing 2 hits and 7 strikeouts. Robertson had 2 hits and an RBI at the plate. Stephen Sadie had 2 RBIs and Carson Howard had 2 hits. The Trojans played error free baseball while the Eagles had 4 miscues in the field. Ford Hilyer, Jackson Duke and Austin White had the only hits for ACA. With the win, St. James improves to 17-3 on the year and 5-0 in area play. ACA falls to 13-7 on the year and 2-3 in the area.

Saint James had no trouble winning big over Robert E. Lee 17-2 in 4 innings on Wednesday. After tying the game 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning, the Trojans then scored 4 runs in the second inning behind the triple of Morgan Parish triple and a single by Micala Fisanick. Saint James scored 7 more in the fourth inning. Cameron Greene, Mallie Taylor, Parish, and Emerson Hagen powered the big inning with RBI’s. Macie Wilson earned the victory on the pitcher’s mound for Saint James. She retired a handful of batters on strikes and surrendered only 3 hits.

Tuesday night, no less than 17 former Montgomery American Dixie Youth Softball players occupied the same field once again as Saint James met Trinity. The Trojans were victorious 8-2 in the great reunion of many friends. Many of the girls on these high school teams spent endless summers together on All-Star teams, Team Alabama, and World Series Championship teams. One such girl, Savannah Christian, had a stand-out night. She drove in 4 runs on 3 hits while pitching 7 innings, allowing 8 hits and 2 runs and striking out 4. Christian drove in runs on a single in the first, a double in the second, and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Saint James got on the board first when Micala Fisanick drove in one when she singled in the first inning. Saint James collected 9 hits on the day. Christian, Fisanick, and Macie Wilson all collected multiple hits for the Trojans. Lily Windham led Trinity with 2 hits in four at bats.

Baseball

Trinity defeated Lamp 10-7 Wednesday with Trace

Trinity’s Trace Bright was the winning pitcher and also blasted a home run against LAMP. (Photo: Art Parker)

Bright winning pitcher. Bright fanned 6 hitters and gave up 3 runs. Bright also led the Wildcats going 3-4 with a 2 run home run. McKay Taylor was 3-5 with a RBI. Jackson Davis was 2-3 and Camden Lovrich went 2-4.

Catholic whipped St. James Wednesday 6-0 with goals from Braxton Rogers, Peter Garland, Kolbe Russo (2), Judd Osten and Tanner Carter. Assists from Kolbe Russo (2), Jonathan Doan, Michael Russo, Tanner Carter and Mitch Aaron. Jason Flowers had the shutout for the Knights with excellent defense by Ivann Garcia, Daniel Reeves, Tyler Price and Jacob Flowers. The Knights are 3-0 in area play and 10-6-4 on the season.

Softball

Saint James shutout Park Crossing 11-0 on Monday night with Macie Wilson picking up the win on the mound. Saint James scored 4 of their runs in the 5th inning. Maddy Materna, Brooke Bender, and K.K. Hall all moved runners across the plate for RBI’s in the inning. Savannah Christian came in to relieve Wilson and allowed only one hit. Wilson did not allow a hit. Hall, Christian, and Maddox Trumbly each managed one hit to lead Saint James.

Saint James defeated Park Crossing 15-1 with 4 runs batted in by Bellah Bright.. Saint James secured the victory thanks to 9 runs in the second inning. Trojan batters contributing to the hitting spree were Ellie Streeton, Macie Wilson, K.K. Hall, Hannah Grace Griggs, Morgan Parish, and Bright, who each had RBI’s in the inning. Hall, a seventh grader, got the win on the mound with 4 innings worked, 5 strikeouts and surrendering on 2 hits.

Baseball

Macon-East avenged an early season loss by defeating Edgewood Academy 3-1 Tuesday afternoon. Brock Taunton allowed just 3 hits and picked up the win on the mound for the Knights. In the bottom of the second inning Macon-East tied things up when Dustin Jones singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring a run. The Knights then scored a pair when Kellen Ward doubled driving in a run. K.C. House then singled and rove in the final run. Macon-East collected 9 hits on the day. Ward, Wes Pugh, Jones, and Tucker Neven all managed multiple hits. Macon-East played without fielding errors. The Knights improve to 26-5 on the season.

PCA pitcher fans 19 Generals

By TIM GAYLE

Prattville Christian right-hander Tyler Bell tossed

the first no-hitter in PCA history last weekend to grab this week’s AHSAA Baseball Spotlight. Bell also struck out a school record 19 in the 6-0 win over Class 7A Lee-Montgomery. Prattville Christian, coached by Jerry Greene, im

Bell, a senior, became the 16th player in the AHSAA Record Book to strike out 19 in a seven-inning game. That total ties for third most in a seven-inning game. The record is 21, held by four pitchers including Cody Reed of Ardmore (2014), Trey Vice of Westbrook Christian (2007), Joe Payne of West End (1999) and Roy Jackson of Opelika (1970).

According to the AHSAA Record Book, which can be found online at http://www.ahsaa.com/Sports/Baseball/Baseball-Individual-Records, six others have recorded 20 strikeouts in a seven-inning game, including Harold Lockhart, who struck out 20 in a row in a 1-0 loss to Verbena in 1953. Reed also had 20 in 2013, Adam Russell of Briarwood in 2008, Kasey Kiker of Russell County in 2005, Doug Shelton of West Morgan in 1996 and Johnny Simmons of Childersburg in 1969.

Baseball

Saint James clobbered Brew Tech 14-3 on Monday. Shaw Woodson’s led off the game with a solo home run and finished with a total of 3 RBIs. Tyler Robertson had 3 RBIs including a solo home run in the top of the 6th inning. Ryan Roche and Carson Howard each added 3 RBIs. Brock Woodham got the win on the mound for the Trojans. Saint James is now 16-3.

ACA whipped Prattville Christian Academy Monday night fueled by Grayson Evans’ 3 hits. The Eagles downed the Panthers 7-1 win and boosted their record to 13-6 on the year. Evans had a RBI single in the 3rd inning, a triple in the 5th inning, and a double in the 7th inning for the Eagles. Preston Perry had a double and 2 RBI’s. Reese Solar and Garrett Weedon also had RBI’s for ACA. Evans, Perry, Jackson Duke, Jackson Hibbard, and Ford Hilyer all scored runs for ACA. Perry threw 5 innings for the Eagles allowing only 2 infield hits and striking out 3. Dalton Mesaris pitched the final 2 innings, striking out 2 and not allowing a hit.

Trinity whipped MA 13 to 2 to elevate the Wildcats record to 12-6. Winning pitcher was Jon Eric Bodin, leading hitter’s for Trinity were McKay Taylor 2-4, Tracy Bright 2-4 with 4 RBIs, Chantz Henry 2-3 with a pair of runs driven home.

Softball

ACA defeated Stanhope Elmore 6-0 Monday as Haley Pittman threw a gem to shutout the Mustangs. Pittman allowed only 3hits over 7 innings and struck out 10 batters. The Eagles racked up 10 hits on the day. Pittman, Haley Ingram, and Baylee Perkins tallied multiple hits for ACA. ACA did not make an error. ACA is now 16-2.

Baseball

Macon-East dropped a tough game to Clarke Prep 7-6 on Saturday despite an admirable comeback effort. The Knights scored 5 runs in a late rally fueled with RBIs by Parker Agnew, Tucker Neven, and Drew Baker. For Macon, Baker started and was the losing pitcher allowing 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 5. The Knights tallied 8 eight hits. K.C. House and Agnew each had multiple hits.

Macon-East returned to its winning ways as Agnew hurled a shutout against Patrician Academy while the Knights prevailed 6-0. Macon racked up 11 hits in the game. Kellen Ward, Baker, and J,C. Ceman each collected multiple hits for the Knights. The Knights are 25-5 on the season

Trinity manufactured a run in the first inning and that was enough for Camden Lovrich, who scattered six hits in helping the Wildcats to a 1-0 win over Alabama Christian at the AUM Baseball Complex on Friday. The win, coupled with an 11-1 win over the

Nolan Sasser reached base in the first inning and scored the only run of the game in Trinity’s victory over ACA Friday. (Photo: Art Parker)

Eagles on Thursday, kept Trinity unbeaten in area play at 2-0. St. James leads the area race with a 4-0 record, followed by Trinity at 2-0, ACA at 2-2, LAMP at 0-2 and Catholic at 0-4. The game’s only run came in the first when Nolan Sasser reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. Grayson Evans took the loss for the Eagles, despite allowing just two hits. Reece Solar went 3 for 3 but was stranded in scoring position each time.

Saint James defeated Catholic 11-1 and 12-3 on Friday to sweep the 3-game series and become a prime contender for the 4A Area championship. Mitchell Madore and Steven Sadie picked up the

wins on the mound. Madore fanned 10 Knights in his effort. Shaw Woodson swung a ferocious bat in the series and homered in both games as well as driving in a trio of runs in each contest. TR Robertson and Josh Garnett each added 3 RBIs in the first game. Robertson drove home a pair of runners in the final game. Saint James is 15-3.

Softball

ACA captured a key area win over Catholic Friday 6-2 behind the pitching of Haley Pittman and a big 4-run third inning. Catholic led early by scoring in the first inning off an ACA error. Lacey Spear

Haley Pittman gave Catholic very little to hit and struck out 11 (Photo: File by Drew Gayle)

drove in the first Eagles run on a fielder’s choice before Monica Willingham singled on a 2-2 count, scoring two runs. Pittman surrendered only one hit 7 seven innings and struck out 11. ACA tallied 8 hits in the game. Pittman and Baylee Perkins each managed multiple hits for the Eagles. Pittman went 3-for-3 at the plate. Katherine O’Connor got the only hot for the Knights. Aleigha Walden scored both Catholic runs. Alex Jolley and Alanna Aiken shared the pitching duties for Catholic. ACA is now 15-2 and Catholic is 6-6 for the season.

Baseball

Trinity defeated ACA 11 to 1 to gain advantage in an important 4A area series. Trace Bright was superb on the mound tossing a one hitter for the Wildcats. Bright fanned 10 Eagles. McKay Taylor was 2 for 4 at the plate as was Tyler Britton. Britton also sent a pair of runners across the plate. Chantz

Trinity 3rd baseman Chantz Henry drove in a pair of runs and was 2-3 against ACA. (Photo: Art Parker)

Henry was 2 for 3 and also had 2 RBIs. ACA did not help itself by committing 5 errors in the field. Trinity is now 9-6 for the season.

Saint James collected another area win by smashing Catholic 17-1 in 5 innings. T.R. Robertson got the win and had 3 RBIs for the

Trojans. Mitchell Madore and Josh Garnett each had 3 RBIs. Saint James is 13-3.

Softball

Alabama Christian extended its 2018 record to 14-2 with a hard fought 2-1 win over 7A Auburn High School. Both teams were strong on the mound Thursday with the dependable Lacey Spear getting the win in the close decision. Spear allowed only one hit and one run over 6 innings and retired 8 batters on strikes. Haley Pittman threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen. Natalie Faulkner, Baylee Perkins, Pittman, and Rose Costanza each collected hits for ACA in the victory.

Catholic spanked Trinity 15-2 with Alanna Aiken leading the Knights with 4 runs batted in. Alanna Aiken wasted no opportunities at the plate by blasting a 3 run homer in the opening inning. In the third inning the Knights sent a half dozen runners across the plate with singles by Aleigha Walden and McKenzie

Alex Jolley threw well and picked up the win for Catholic over Trinity. (Photo: Art Parker)

Norton, a groundout by Carrie Belsterling, an error on a ball put in play by Katherine O’Connor, and a double by Nikki Walker. Alex Jolley was the winning pitcher for Catholic. She went 3 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3 Wildcats. Carissa Gilbert threw 2 innings in relief out of the bullpen. The Knights tallied 14 hits in the 5 inning affair. Walden, Aiken, Belsterling, and Walker all had multiple hits for Catholic. Walden went 4-for-4 at the plate. Walden also swiped 4 bases out of 11 total by the Knights. Catholic

The Knights stole 11 bases on the day with almost all runners arriving with ease like Carrie Belsterling. (Photo: Art Parker)

played well in the field without making an error. Catholic coach Whitney Toole was glad to get the first area win in the books and expressed a lot of confidence in her team. “I think one thing that makes this team good is that they are super athletic. And, they know the game of softball and they are ready to play. We got a good group and we look forward to the rest of the season,” Toole said. The Knights are now 6-5.

Boys tennis

Montgomery Academy won two of three matches recently with the first being a shutout of Brookstone (Georgia) 5-.0 Singles winners for the Eagles were James Torbert, William Robertson and Whit David. Doubles winners were Dallon Wallis / Will Peeples and Guy Hughes/ Henry Lawson.

The Eagles lost to 7A Auburn 7-2 in their next match. Hamilton Chapman and Whitt Davis were the only winners for MA.

MA then notched a major win over perennial power Mountain Brook 5-4 on the road. Singles winners were James Torbert, William Robertson, Hamilton Chapman and Whit Davis. Doubles winners were Torbert / Robertson.

Trinity defeated BTW 3-1. For the Wildcats, goals were scored by Peyton Parkman with an assist by Luke Adams; Thomas Helms then assisted Luke Adams on a goal scored and Sam Farris scored with an assist by Jonathon Green.

Softball

Alabama Christian Academy grabbed the lead in the fifth inning to defeat St. James 20-8. The game was tied 6-6 with ACA batting in the top of the fifth when Aniya Jackson singled on the first pitch of the at-bat scoring a run. The Eagles tallied 6 runs in the sixth inning. Haley Ingram, Monica Willingham, Christa Boswell, Baylee Perkins, and Lacey Spear each drove in runs during the inning.

ACA catcher Natalie Faulkner had another multiple hit game for the Eagles. (Photo: Art Parker)

Christa Boswell collected 4 hits in 5 at-bats to lead ACA to victory. Boswell singled in the second, singled in the fifth, singled in the sixth, and singled in the seventh.

Spear was the winning pitcher. She went 7 innings, allowing 8 runs on 6 hits and striking out a dozen batters.

ACA pounded Saint James pitching for 26 hits. Haley Pittman, Boswell, Ingram, Jackson, Willingham, Natalie Faulkner, and Rose Costanza each collected multiple hits for the Eagles Varsity. Pittman had 5 hits in 6 at-bats. The Eagles are now 13-2 on the season.

Boys soccer

Trinity defeated BTW 3-1. For the Wildcats, goals were scored by Peyton Parkman with an assist by Luke Adams; Thomas Helms then assisted Luke Adams on a goal scored and Sam Farris scored with an assist by Jonathon Green.

Updated at 8:06 am on March 17, 2018

Baseball

Saint James defeated Lee in both halves of a doubleheader on Thursday. The Trojans took the first game behind a shutout tossed by Tyler Robertson who allowed on 2 hits and fanned 7 Generals. Jackson

Saint James Matthew Robinson had a good day against Robert E. Lee, driving in a run in the first game and was the winning pitcher in the second game. (Photo: Art Parker)

Hammock had 2 RBIs for the Trojans. Matthew Robinson and Mitchell Madore added an RBI each. Carson Howard got the save. The Trojans took the second game 15-5 in 5 innings. Denson Clark led the Trojans with 4 RBIs. Stephen Sadie and Ryan Roche had three RBIs apiece. Brock Woodham got the win on the mound.

Saint James easily defeated Jeff Davis on Friday 10-2. Matthew Robinson was the winning pitcher and had 2 RBIs for the Trojans. Stephen Sadie and Jackson Hammock each had 2 RBIs. Saint James is now 12-3.

Macon East whipped Fort Dale Academy 6-4. Tucker Neven drove home 2 runs. Drew Baker pitched the Knights to victory. He went 5 innings, gave up one hit and struck out 7. Zack Kitchens and Chandler Weldon entered the game out of the bullpen. Zack Kitchens gets the save.

Macon East defeated Marengo Academy 10-0 in the 6 innings. Tucker Neven led the Knights to victory by driving in 4 runs. Neven drove in a run on a single and three runs on a walk off home run in the 6th inning to win the game. Parker Agnew earned the win for the Knights yielding only 4 hits over 6 innings, striking out 3 batters. The Knights had a total of 13 hits in the game. Drew Baker was 3-4, Neven 3-4, K.C. House 2-3, and Dustin Jones 2-4 all had multiple hits for Macon East.

Macon East fell behind early and could not come back in a 12-8 loss to Pike Liberal Arts. Nick Fitzgerald took the loss for Macon and surrendered 8 runs. The Knights overall record on the season 21-3.

Baseball

Jackson Duke singled in Garrett Cottingham in the bottom of the 7th inning to push ACA past Jemison 7-6 and salvage a split of the spring break double header. Preston Perry started off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and Reese Solar reached on a fielding

ACA’s big first baseman Jackson Duke swung a hot bat in games against Chilton County and Thorsby. (Photo: Art Parker)

error to send Duke to the plate. Duke hit a hard ball past the pulled in first baseman to allow the pinch-runner Cottingham to score. Jemison led 3-1 going into the bottom of the 5th inning when the Eagles scored five runs to take a 6-3 lead. Austin White started the inning with a double. Ford Hilyer and Solar each followed with RBI singles. Duke led the Eagles at the plate with 3 hits. Hilyer had 2 hits and 2 RBI’s. Dalton Mesaris was the winning pitcher. Jemison won the first game of the double header 9-7. ACA is now 11-3.

Macon East defeated Emmanuel Christian School 15-0 in three innings. The Knights secured the victory thanks to 12 runs in the first inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Kellen Ward, KC House, JC Ceman, and Tucker Neven. And doubles from Nick Marshall and Drew Baker. Brock Taunton was the winning pitcher for Macon East. He lasted 2 inning, allowing one hit and zero runs while striking out 4 and walking zero. Wes Pugh threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen. Ceman lead the Knights with 2 hits off of 4 AB’s. In the second game Macon East won easily again, 15-0, in 6 innings. The Knights scored 9 runs in the sixth inning. Parker Agnew, Baker,Ward, Nate Center, Pugh, Brock Taunton each had RBI’s in the big inning. House earned the win for the Knights. He went 2 and 2/3 innings, did not allow a hit on 3 hits and striking out 3. The Knights racked up 13 hits in the game. Ward (2-4), Pugh (2-4), Ceman (2-5) all collected multiple hits. The Knights improve to an overall record of 19-2

Alabama Christian Academy whipped Thorsby at home 5-0 with Ford Hilyer tossing a complete game shutout. Hilyer struck out 9 Rebel batters and only allowed 4 hits in the 7 inning contest. The Eagles scored single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to jump to a 2-0 lead with base hits by Hilyer and Jackson Duke. second inning Jackson Duke singled home Reese Solar, who had walked. In the 5th inning, the Eagles had 4 hits and scored 3 runs. Preston Perry and Solar each had RBI hits, with 2 outs, to push across runs for the Eagles. Duke and Perry led the Eagles with two hits each. Jackson Hibbard and Garrett Weedon also contributed with singles. ACA improves to 12-3 on the year.

Softball

Saint James participated in the Tallassee Tournament recently. The Trojans won 2 of 3 games defeating Opelika and Park Crossing, but falling to Beauregard, Tallassee, and Reeltown. In the victory over Opelika the Trojans took a 6-3 decision with Savannah Christian striking out 6 batters. Macie Wilson’s 2-run homer over the left field fence and Micala Fisanick solo blast were the offensive highlights for Saint James. Hannah Griggs, Morgan Parish, and Christian slapped singles to help pad the Saint James lead. In the final game of the tournament, Macie Wilson added another 2-run homer in a 10-0 romp over Park Crossing. Christian and K.K. Hall shared pitching duties for Saint James. Runs scored by Ellie Streeton, Mallie Taylor, and Ella Ward in the remaining innings topped the scoring effort.

Prattville Christian defeated Marbury 2-0. Jaime Drouin led the Lady Panthers with 2 goals scored as PCA improves to 2-0-1 on the season. Jenna Brooke Warlick and Kendall Holt each recorded 1 assist.

Updated at 10:44 am on March 11, 2018

Baseball

After defeating Heritage 9-5 and Kingwood 13-3, Macon lost to Glenwood 6-4 in the Border Wars Tournament. Against Heritage, Drew Baker was credited with the win for the Macon East Knights. He went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on one hit and striking out 9 batters. Jalen Howard and K.C. House entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Nick Marshall, Baker, J.C. Ceman, Tucker Neven, Dawson

Dawson Strickland was one of seven Knights to hit safely against Heritage. (Photo: Art Parker)

Strickland, Kellen Ward, and Brock Taunton all had one hit to lead The Macon East Knights. Wes Pugh led the team with two stolen bases, as they ran wild on the base paths with eight stolen bases

Against Kingwood, Parker Agnew took the win only allowing 5 hits and 3 runs over 5 innings, striking out one and walking one. Macon East notched six runs in the 5th inning with Ceman, Agnew, Baker, Ward, Marshall, and Nate Center all sending runners across the plate with RBI’s in the inning. The Knights racked up 11 hits. Neven, Baker and Agnew all managed multiple hits for Macon. Baker and Neven all had three hits to lead the Knights.

In the disappointing loss to Glenwood, the Knights collected more hits than the Gators but to no avail. Nick Fitzgerald took the loss for the Knights. He allowed 3 hits and six runs over a four inning start, striking out one. Tucker Neven led the Knights with 3 hits in 3 at bats. The Knights finished the tournament going 3-1 and are 17-2 on the season.

Updated at 11:12 am on March 10, 2018

Baseball

After defeating Catholic in the first game of the series in area play on Thursday, ACA used timely hitting and a masterful pitching performance by Grayson Evans to win the second game Friday, 11-6. The Eagles are off to a fast start at 10-2 and like Saint James, are 2-0 in the area.

After entering the bottom of the second trailing

Like many of the Eagles, ACA’s John Thompson hit well in the Catholic series. (Photo: Art Parker)

1-0, ACA exploded for six runs on just two hits to take the lead. Ford Hilyer had the big hit in the inning with a duble drove a pair of runners home. The Eagles would score a single run in the fourth inning and two runs in the fifth and sixth innings. White highlighted the scoring with a triple to deep right center field that scored two Eagles. White led the Eagles with three RBIs, while Evans and Hilyer each drove in two. Preston Perry, Jackson Duke and John Thompson also had hits. Evans was in control for all five innings he pitched. He gave up only two hits while striking out 12 Knights.

“It’s always good to start off area play with three wins,” head coach Don Gilliam said. “Our team played really hard. We had good pitching from our starter this weekend. In the first game it was Hilyer and in the second game it was Evans.” In Game 3, Catholic scored six runs in the top of the first inning on five hits, two hit batters and one walk. However, the Eagles chipped away at the lead throughout the game, scoring runs in each inning, ultimately winning 10-6.

“This teams finds a way to win. The area is going to be tough. Trinity, St. James, and LAMP are very good, but we are excited about the opportunity we have and are working hard to reach our goals,” Hilyer said.

Full report in next week’s printed edition of the Montgomery Independent

Saint James took a doubleheader from LAMP Friday. The Trojans took the first game 7-5 behind Mitchell Madore’s pitched a complete game. Madore allowed only 5 hits and one earned run. Shaw Woodson was 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs. Ryan

LAMP’s Todd Davis threw well for the Tigers before being relieved. (Photo: Tim Gayle)

Roche was 3 for 4 with an RBI and Tyler Robertson was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Saint James took the second game in 5 innings Saint James 14-1. Mathew Robinson was 3 for 3 with 5 runs driven home RBIs including a 3 run home run in the top of the 2nd inning. Stephen Sadie got the win on the mound and had 3 RBIs at the plate. Josh Garnett and Carson Howard each had 2 RBIs. Saint James is now 9-3.

Softball

Alabama Christian Academy scored five runs in the third on

Monica Willingham was one of the Eagles that swung the bat well (Photo: Art Parker)

its way to a 7-1 victory over Handley on Friday. Rose Costanza, Natalie Faulkner, Monica Willingham, and Baylee Perkins each had RBIs in the big inning. Haley Pittman got the win for ACA. She lasted four innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out eight and walking one. ACA was sure-handed in the field and didn’t commit a single error.

Lacey Spear didn’t allow a single hit as Alabama Christian Academy defeated Central Phenix City 4-2 on Friday. Spear led the Eagles with two hits in two at bats. ACA played errorless ball in the field.

A walk-off hit left Alabama Christian Academy (ACA) on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat to Prattville Christian Academy (PCA) on Saturday. The game was tied at one with PCA batting in the bottom of the seventh when Kathryn Fallen doubled on a 1-1 count, scoring one run.

The pitching was strong on both sides. PCA pitchers struck out four, while ACA sat down eight. Haley Pittman took the loss for ACA. She surrendered one run on 2 hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out 8.

ACA evened things up at one in the top of the second inning. Christa Boswell drove in one when she singled. Rose Costanza led ACA going 2-3. ACA is now 12-2.

Macon-East defeated Lee-Scott 7-3 Friday. The game was tied at three with the Knights Varsity batting in the bottom of the fifth and Kadence Ward doubled driving home a run. Caroline Capps got the win going 7 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs while striking out 5 batters with no walks. Macon-East tallied nine hits on the day. Kayle Bell, Breann Morrison, and Madison McKee each collected multiple hits.

Macon-East snatched the lead late in the game in a 5-4 victory over Autauga on Friday. The game was tied at three with Macon-East batting in the top of the

Kaye Bell led the Knights with 4 runs driven in during the 15-0 spanking of Lee-Scott. (Photo: Art Parker)

seventh and scored on an error. The Knights got on the board in the first inning when Madison McKee singled and drove home a pair of runs. Autauga knotted the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Taylor McKinney went the distance for the Knights allowing only 4 hits and 3 runs while striking out 3. Macon-East collected 9 nine hits on the day. McKinney and McKee had multiple hits.

In another game with Lee-Scott, Macon East won easily 15-0. Taylor McKinney tossed the shutout and allowed only one hit. Kayle Bell led the Knights by driving 4 runners across the plate. She went 3-for-4 at the plate including a home run. Macon-East scored 8 runs in the third inning. Emi Lott, Taylor McKinney, Bell, Madisyn Kennedy, Madison McKee, and Caroline Capps each had RBIs in the frame. Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity scattered 16 hits in the game and did not commit an error in the field.

Boys Soccer

Catholic defeated Eufaula 4-1 on Friday. Two goals from Captain Jonathan Doan and one a piece from Braxton Rogers and Judd Osten were enough to see the Knights to victory.

Updated at 8:58 pm on March 9, 2018

Baseball

Saint James Josh Garnett drove home a pair of runs against LAMP. (Photo: Art Parker)

Saint James made quick work of LAMP on Thursday and defeated the Tigers 11-0 in 5 innings. T.R. Robertson got the win pitching all 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and retired 9 on strikes. Robertson had an RBI triple and a two run home run in the third inning. Shaw Woodson had 3

runs driven across the plate and Josh Garnett had 2 RBIs. Saint James stands at 7-3.

T.R. Robertson got the win on the mound for Saint James and slapped a LAMP pitch for a home run. (Art Parker)

Trinity defeated MA 6-1 at home Thursday afternoon. Winning pitcher for the Wildcats was Tyler Britton. Leading hitters for Trinity were Camden Lovrich, 1 for 3 with one run driven in, Trace Bright notched a pair of RBIs on two hits and Nolan Sasser was 2 for 3. Trinity travels to Gulf Shores to play Spanish Fort , Sipsey Valley, Bob Jones, Baldwin County for spring break. The Wildcats are now 7-3 on the season.

ACA thumped Catholic 15-7 on Thursday with the wind swirling and gusting to 20 miles per hour making normally sure outs for ACA’s defense more challenging. The Eagles turned to the bats and hammered out 17 hits to run away from the Knights. ACA improves to 8-2 on the year and 1-0 in the area. ACA scored runs in all but the third inning in the opening area game for both teams. ACA sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs on four hits in the first inning, highlighted by a double by Ford Hilyer. Preston Perry had an RBI hit in the inning. In the fifth inning, the Eagles once again sent nine batters to the plate, scoring five runs on four hits, all with two outs. Jackson Hibbard and Hilyer each had 2 RBI singles in the big inning. Every Eagle starter had a hit on the day. John Thompson and Reese Solar had big days at the plate. Thompson had five RBI’s on a double, single, sacrifice fly and bases loaded walk. Solar was 3-3 on the day and scored two runs. Austin White, Grayson Evans, Hibbard, Perry and Hilyer all had two hits and drove in runs. Jackson Duke had a hit and scored two runs. Garrett Cottingham also had a hit and scored a run. Hilyer was the winning pitcher, throwing 4 innings and improved his record to 3-0 for the year. Dalton Mesaris threw 3 innings striking out 5, to pick up the save.

Macon East whipped Calvary Christian 9-1 in the Border Wars Tournament. The Knights pulled away for good with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. In that inning K.C. House doubled as did Brock Taunton. In the fifth inning the Knights scored 4 runs that came from singles by Tucker Neven, Nate Center and House. Macon East racked up 10 hits. Kellen Ward and Drew Baker also had multiple hits for the Knights. Neven picked up the win going 5 innings, giving up 1 run on just 2 hits, and striking out a half dozen. Macon East is now 15-1 on the season.

Softball

ACA has defeated opponents all season and things were no different Thursday afternoon as the Eagles Lacey Spear tossed a no-hitter and fanned 6 batters while facing Trinity Presbyterian. The Eagles won easily 19-0. ACA tallied 7 runs in the fourth inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Natalie Faulkner, Jill Taggart, Haley Ingram, Monica Willingham, and Christa Boswell, a fielder’s choice by Aniya Jackson, and an error on a ball put in play by Rose Costanza. ACA collected 15 hits on the day. ACA is now 10-1.

Softball

Macon-East whipped Pike Liberal Arts 6-1 after enjoying a big second inning and then added 3 runs in the fifth inning. Taylor McKinney and Kayle Bell were the big RBI producers. The Knights tallied 10 hits. Madison Mckee, Caroline Capps, and Emi Lott each had multiple hits. Capps got the start for Macon and went the distance of 7 innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out 4.

Boys Soccer

Catholic defeated ACA 5-1. Kolbe Russo led the Knights with a pair of goals while Michael Russo, Peter Garland and Daniel Reeves each scored goals. Two assists from Rocky Phillipou and three assists from Jonathan Doan had a trio of assists and Rocky Phillipou had 2 assists. The Knights received a splendid performance in goal by Thomas McLaughlin who made 10 saves.

Girls Tennis

Trinity girls defeated St. James in a very close match, 5-4. Singles winners for Trinity were Emma Beth Teel, Wallace Bryan and Madison Johnston. Doubles winners were Teel/Caroline Easterling and Corynne Vermillion/Anne Catharine Logan. Singles winners for St. James were Ana Miller, Bea Richardson and Sue Richardson. Doubles winner was Ella Shier/Sue Richardson. The Lady Wildcats are 6-2.

Updated at 4:45 on March 6, 2018

Baseball

Trinity beat Brew Tech 13-3 on Monday at home to improve

Trinity’s Trace Bright was 2 for 4 against Brew Tech and drove in a run (File photo)

its recorded to 6-3. Winning pitcher was Edward Rutland. Leading hitters for Trinity were McKay Taylor 3-4 with one run driven in. Camden Lovrich was 3-4 and sent a trio of runners across the plate. Tyler Britton went 2-2 with one 1 RBI. Trace Bright was 2-4 with a run driven in and Jackson Davis went 2- 3 with 2 runs batted in.

Macon East whipped Hooper Academy 16-3. The Knights fired up the offense in the first inning and kept moving runners across the plate. The Knights had a big inning scoring three runs in the top of the third. Later in the game, the Knights scored six runs in the fourth and the fifth. Zach Kitchens picked up the win on the mound and Wes Pugh threw in relief. Kitchens only gave up one run on two hits in three innings, striking out 4 and walking one. Macon East racked up eight hits. Kellen Ward was 2-3 and Tucker Nevens 2-4, both managed multiple hits. The Knights improve to 14-1 on the season.

Saint James was defeated by Chilton County 4-1 on Monday. Chilton County scored 4 runs in the top of the third to secure the win. The Trojans had 4 hits and T.R. Robertson had the Trojans lone RBI. Mitchell Madore was tagged with the loss. Saint James is 6-3.

Softball

Catholic participated in the Troy tournament and captured 3 of 4 games. The Knights first defeated Highland Home 17-2. Aleigha Walden smashed 4 hits and notched 2 RBI’s. McKenzie Norton was 2-2 with 3 runs driven in. Jessie Clark also drove home 4 runners and Nikki Walker had a pair of runs batted in. Winning Pitcher Carissa Gilbert with a trio of strikeouts.

The Knights then clobbered Charles Henderson 10-2. Walden, Norton, Walker, Alanna Aiken and Katherine O’Connor had 2 hits each. Norton sent a pair of runners across the plate and Aiken got the win on the mound with 2 strikeouts.

Catholic slipped past Andalusia 1-0 with Jessie Clark accounting for the only run of the game with a home run. Aiken got another win and recorded 3 strikeouts.

Alanna Aiken got two wins on the mound and several key hits for Catholic down in Troy (File photo)

Lamp narrowly defeated Catholic 8-7 in the final game. Norton, Clark, Walker, Carrie Belsterling and Chloe Walden all hit safely. Chloe Walden had 2 RBIs while Walker and Norton each sent a runner home.

Macon East shut down Evangel Christian, as Caroline Capps tossed a complete game victory in the Knights 8-0 victory on Monday. Madisyn Kennedy collected four hits in four at bats to help lead Macon-East. Kennedy doubled in the first, singled in the third, singled in the fifth, and tripled in the sixth. In addition to Kennedy, T.J. James, Madison Mckee and Capps powered the big inning with RBIs. Capps surrendered only three hits over seven innings, striking out four without a walk. The Knights had 15 hits in the game.

Boys soccer

Prattville Christian shut out Heritage Christian at home 4-0. Michael McCarty led the Panthers with 2 goals scored and 1 assist. Andrew Clem also scored 2 goals as PCA improves to 3-0 on the season. Ryan Hatfield and Sasha Scully each added 1 assist.

Updated at 6:52 pm on March 4, 2018

Baseball

Saint James defeated longtime rival UMS Wright 6-2 in the FCA Tournament. Tyler Robertson pitched a complete game allowing 4 hits, no earned runs and 8 strikeouts. Robertson had 3 hits and one run drive in. Shaw Woodson, Matthew Robinson and Mitchell Madore all had a run batted in

Thorsby defeated Saint James 5-3. Thorsby scored all 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning for the victory. Carson Howard got the loss on the mound allowing 4 hits and 5 earned runs. Mitchell Madore and Jackson Hammock had one RBI each for the Trojans.

Trinity defeated Demopolis 7-2, a victory that runs the Wildcats’ record to 4-0 in the FCA Tournament. Winning pitcher for Trinity was Trace Bright. Leading hitters for Trinity were Camden Lovrich 2 for 3 with 2 runs driven home. Chantz Henry was also 2 for 3.

Softball

Saint James traveled to Dadeville lost an error-ridden game along with a weak offensive effort by the Trojans resulting in a 10-0 loss. Macie Wilson pitched 5 innings striking out 2 and walking 3. Timarian Tinsley picked up the win for the Tigers with a pair of strike-outs while keeping the Trojans scoreless in 5 innings.

The second inning was a major disaster for the Trojans. Dadeville scored 5 runs and batted around. Dadeville added 3 runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth to take the win. Morgan Parish, Ellie Streeton, Cam Greene, Bella Bright and Makenzie Corley hit safely for Saint James.

Updated at 6:55am on March 4, 2018

BASEBALL
Macon East Academy 13, Northside Methodist 2
LOWNDESBORO – Tucker Neven threw a no-hitter, striking out seven, as the Macon East Knights defeated Northside 13-2 in a Lowndes Academy tournament game shortened to five innings by the 10-run mercy rule.
Drew Baker went 4-for-4 and Kellen Ward went 2-for-4 with a first-inning home run to give Macon East a quick 4-0 lead, part of an 11-hit attack.

Macon East Academy 13, Lakeside School 5
LOWNDESBORO – Macon East used a seven-run third inning to pull away for an easy 13-3 victory in a game shortened to five innings by the 10-run mercy rule in the Lowndes Academy tournament on Friday.
Brock Taunton had an RBI single and Drew Baker added a two-run single in the third.
Baker picked up the win on the mound, allowing just three runs on four hits while striking out eight.
JC Ceman, Taunton and Baker all went 2 for 3 in the 9-hit attack.Macon East Academy 9, Fort Dale Academy 0
LOWNDESBORO — Parker Agnew scattered five hits and pitched a shutout to help Macon East defeat Fort Dale 9-0 in the Lowndes Academy baseball tournament on Friday.
Agnew ran into a little trouble in the seventh as Fort Dale loaded the bases, but Zach Kitchens came in and got a grounder for the third out to close out the game.
Macon East was effective at the plate, using six sacrifices and seven hits to pick up their nine runs. On the day, the Knights finished with 35 runs on 27 hits while allowing just five runs.

SOFTBALL
Catholic 17, Highland Home 2
Catholic scored five runs in the first inning and 10 more in the third to rout the Flying Squadron in a game shortened by the mercy rule.
Aleigha Walden had four hits to lead the Knights’ offense while Jessie Clark drove in four runs. Carissa Gilbert picked up the win in the circle.

Catholic 10, Charles Henderson 2
Catholic used an eight-run third inning to coast to victory over the Trojans on Friday. Aleigha Walden and Nikki Walker each had two hits to lead the offense while Alanna Aiken picked up the win in the circle.

SOCCER
Prattville Christian 10, Autaugaville 0
AUTAUGAVILLE – Andrew Clem scored five goals and added an assist and Michael McCarty had four goals and a pair of assists as Prattville Christian improved to 2-0 in area play with an easy victory on Friday.
Matt Vaughn added a goal for the Panthers (2-0). Jake Davis had two assists and Sasha Scully, Ryan Hatfield, Trent Jorgensen and Matthew Lisle all added one assist each.

Updated at 6:15am on March 3, 2018

BASEBALL

Trinity’s Camden Lovrich

By TIM GAYLE

Trinity 5, UMS-Wright 1
Camden Lovrich pitched five innings of one-hit ball, helping Trinity roll to a 5-1 victory over defending 4A state champion UMS-Wright in the 25th annual Jason Armstrong FCA Memorial Classic at Riverwalk Stadium on Friday afternoon.
“I’ve been excited about it ever since I heard I was going to get the start,” Lovrich said. “They’re a great team, great program, great coaching. Just all-around, everything great. It’s really exciting to be able to throw against a team like that.”
Lovrich escaped a first-inning jam after two runners reached base, but was rarely challenged after that. He left the game in the sixth inning after the first batter, John Rice, reached base on an error. Rice would later score when the Bulldogs loaded the bases on reliever Jackson Davis and Tyler Irvin was hit by a pitch to force in a run, but that was the only blemish on an otherwise masterful day by Lovrich, who also went 2 for 3 and scored a run to lead the offense.
“We started out a little slow (this season), but I believe in these guys,” Lovrich said. “We’ve got a great team, we’ve got a bond like no other.”
Lovrich scored the game’s first run on a single by Tyler Britton in the first, but Trinity (4-3) would have to wait three more innings before adding to the lead. Chantz Henry drew a two-out single and was followed by a slicing shot down the right-field line by Josh Hynniman to score Henry. UMS-Wright outfielder Mitchell Hill flipped over the wall chasing the ball into the bullpen area, allowing Hynniman to circle the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
Singles by Will Aaron, Davis and McKay Taylor drove in two more runs, the last one on an error following a wild pickoff throw by the Bulldogs.

LAMP 8, Providence Christian 7

By TIM GAYLE
Russell Turner, Austin Clark and Todd Davis each drove in a pair of runs as LAMP won its final game in the Jason Armstrong FCA Memorial Classic with an 8-7 win over Providence Christian (PCA)on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium.

“We didn’t make as many errors as we had in the other losses (to Brew Tach and Opp) this week,” LAMP coach Chad Smith said. “The reason we lost the two games earlier in the week is (the opponents’ runs) were all unearned runs, whether it was a hit batter or a base on ball or just kicking it around. We didn’t make as many of those mistakes.”

LAMP’s Myles Herron

LAMP starter Myles Herron lasted just 2.1 innings before giving way to reliever Logan Hines. Cole Smith flied out to center field and Lance Phung quickly threw to Todd Davis at third base for a double play to leave the game tied at 5-5.

Hines picked up the win and Trace Deloney got the save, retiring Grayson Stewart, Coleman Wright and Jon Lewis in order on nine pitches in the seventh inning.

Turner had a two-run double in the first and Phung and Austin Clark had RBI hits in the second as LAMP built a 5-0 lead. Eli Yance singled in a run in the bottom of the second and the Eagles added four more runs in the third to tie the game. Wright had a bloop single that scored two runs and Lewis followed with a two-run single to tie the game and finish the day for Herron.

Davis had a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Tigers a one-run lead, but Providence answered with a sacrifice fly of its own to score pinch runner Reid Leger in the bottom half of the inning. LAMP scored a run in each of the next two innings as Austin Meeks singled in Julian in the fifth and Phung stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Davis for a two-run lead.

PCA answered with an RBI double by David Warrens in the bottom of the sixth but Deloney came in and shut the door in the seventh to help the Tigers improve to 3-4.

UMS-Wright 15, Alabama Christian 5

By TIM GAYLE
Crucial fielding errors in the fourth and fifth innings allowed defending state champion UMS-Wright to pull away from a close contest and defeat Alabama Christian 15-5 on Friday night in the Jason Armstrong FCA Memorial Classic at Riverwalk Stadium.
The Eagles (6-2), which had lost their first game of the season on Thursday in the tournament to Wilson, erased a 2-0 lead with three runs in the first, only to fall apart defensively by allowing six unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings to score.
“It all boils down to this: if you’re in Major League baseball, you’re in college baseball, you’re in high school baseball, when you make eight errors in a game, this is going to happen,” ACA coach Don Gilliam said. “The first six games, we have played error-free ball. We’ve had two errors in six games. Today, we booted it around. When you boot it around, that’s going to happen.
“We’re a good baseball team, but good baseball teams can’t boot it around.”
UMS-Wright jumped on starter Grayson Evans for a pair of runs in the top of the first, but ACA rallied with three in the bottom half of the inning. Jackson Hibbard was hit by a pitch and later scored when Evans reached base on an error. Evans went to second on the play and scored on a single by Preston Perry to tie the game. Perry later scored on the Bulldogs’ second error of the inning following a single by Reece Solar, giving the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
It was short-lived. Three consecutive hits down the third-base line – all hard-hit grounders later labeled as errors by Gilliam – included a throwing error by third baseman Campbell Mock that led to four runs and finished the day for Evans. The starter then moved to shortstop, where he promptly had a hard hit ricochet off of his glove and then booted the next grounder, allowing two more runs to score for a 6-3 lead.
It got worse in the fifth as three consecutive singles off of reliever Taylor Hackett plated two more runs for a 10-3 lead and another error allowed two more unearned runs to score. Six of the nine Bulldogs in the batting order reached base multiple times. Richard Brinson went 4 for 5, Skipper Snypes went 3 for 4 and John Rice reached base four times, twice on errors.
For ACA, Solar went 2 for 3 and John Thompson went 2 for 4.

Trinity 8, Stanhope Elmore 2Camden Lovrich went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs to lead Trinity to an 8-2 victory over Stanhope Elmore in the Jason Armstrong FCA Memorial Classic on Thursday.
Chantz Henry was 2 for 4 and drove in a run for Trinity, while Tyler Britton was 2 for 3 and Jackson Davis went 2 for 4.
Bryson Byrne was the winning pitcher for the Wildcats (3-3), which return to action on Friday against defending state champion UMS-Wright.

Wilson 5, Alabama Christian 3ACA led 3-1 with two outs in the sixth inning but gave up three runs on just two hits as Wilson High rallied for a 5-3 victory in the Jason Armstrong FCA Classic at Riverwalk Stadium on Thursday.
Preston Perry pitched 5.2 innings, allowing only five hits while striking out four. Austin White doubled for the Eagles. Jackson Duke, Jackson Hibbard, Grayson Evans and Ford Hilyer each had hits for ACA (6-1), which suffered its first loss of the season.

St. James 6, Marbury 2Mitchell Madore pitched five innings of two-hit ball to help the Trojans to a 6-2 win over Marbury in the Jason Armstrong FCA Tournament at Paterson Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Stephen Sadie went 3 for 4 to lead the Trojan offense. Matthew Robinson had three RBIs and Joshua Garnett added 2 RBIs for St. James (4-1), which was scheduled to face Thorsby at Riverwalk Stadium on Wednesday in the tournament.

Alabama Christian 11, Montgomery Academy 2
ACA scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings and cruised to an 11-2 win over the Eagles at the AUM Baseball Complex on Tuesday night.
Ford Hilyer, Grayson Evans, Reece Solar, John Thompson, Austin White and Jackson Duke all had run-scoring hits for the Eagles (6-0). Solomon Hall and Garrett Cottingham also had hits.
Hilyer threw four innings, giving up one run, to pick up the win. Evans pitched the fifth, striking out one. Grayson Gray worked the sixth and seventh innings for the Eagles, striking out two.Macon East Academy 10, Emmanuel Christian 0
Jalen Howard, Nick Fitzgerald and Tucker Neven combined on a six-inning shutout as Macon East won for the ninth time in 10 games this season.
Howard picked up the win, pitching three innings and striking out sixth as the starter.
Neven had an RBI single in the first inning to get the Knights rolling. They broke open the game in the third with a four-run inning highlighted by run-scoring hits from KC House, Nate Center, Dustin Jones and Parker Agnew.
Agnew went 2 for 2 and JC Ceman went 2 for 4, both collecting 2 RBIs, in the 10-hit attack. Macon East returns to action on Thursday in a tournament at Lowndes Academy.

SOFTBALLMacon East Academy 17, Coosa Valley Academy 1LOWNDESBORO – Macon East exploded for 11 runs in the fourth inning to pull away from Coosa Valley in a tournament at Lowndes Academy on Friday.
Kayle Bell drew a bases-loaded walk to score the game’s first run in the top of the first, but Coosa Valley answered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning. Dawn Johnson broke the tie with an RBI groundout in the third before the Knights cranked up their offense with RBIs from Bell, Johnson, TJ James, Breann Morrison and Taylor Mckinney.
McKinney picked up the win in the circle, allowing three hits and one run while striking out six and walking one in four innings of work.
Johnson, Morrison, Mckinney, Bell and Madisyn Kennedy all had two hits in the 12-hit attack.

Macon East Academy 8, Lakeside School 0LOWNDESBORO – Caroline Capps pitched a one-hitter for the Knights, striking out seven and walking none in five innings of work in a tournament at Lowndes Academy on Friday.
Dawn Johnson got the Macon East offense started with a two-run home run in the first inning. Emi Lott, Taylor Mckinney, TJ James and Capps all had two hits in the 10-hit attack.
Catholic 12, Elmore County 6
Aleigha Walden, Chloe Walden and Jessie Clark each drove in a pair of runs as Catholic defeated Elmore County 12-6 in the Knights’ season opener on Tuesday afternoon.
Nikki Walker went 3 for 4 to lead the Knights’ offense, while Nona Johnson went 2 for 3. Alex Jolley pitched the first two innings, recording one strikeout. Alanna Aiken pitched the next four innings, striking out four and picking up the win.
In the junior varsity game, Makiya Jones had a walkoff RBI double in the fifth inning to drive in the winning run in Catholic’s 3-2 victory.
Carrissa Gilbert pitched all five innings for the Knights, striking out four. She also drove in one of Catholic’s runs. Cecilia Crawford drove in the other run for Catholic.
TENNIS
LAMP 8, St. James 1LAMP won two of the three doubles matches and swept the singles competition to score a convincing victory over St. James on Wednesday.
In singles, Jaemin Kim defeated Hawthorne Ramsey 8-4 at No. 1; Josh Kim defeated J.B. Ramsey 8-2 at No. 2; Arnob Guha defeated Sam Prickett 8-1 at No. 3; Dishan Chandrasoma defeated Ryan Jeong 8-3 at No. 4; Felix Wang defeated Mitch Mathews 8-5 at No. 5; and Eric Mesina defeated Jacob Seale 8-4 at No. 6.
The doubles team of Kim and Kim edged Ramsey and Ramsey 8-6 at No. 1 and Chandrasoma and Simeon Jeon defeated Jeong and Seale at No. 3.
Prickett and Mathews defeated Guha and Jae Lee 8-6 for the Trojans’ only point.

Catholic 3, Sylacauga 0Thomas McLaughlin preserved the shutout with seven saves and junior Jacob Flowers had a man-of-the-match performance at center back with several crucial defensive stops and clearances as the Catholic boys shut out ninth-ranked Sylacauga 3-0 on Thursday at Catholic.
Ivann Garcia, Daniel Reeves and Kolbe Russo each had a goal for the Knights. Rocky Phillipou had a pair of assists for Catholic, which travels to second-ranked Guntersville on Saturday.
Catholic 4, Sylacauga 0
Claire Mills had all four goals to lead the Catholic girls soccer team to a 4-0 shutout of previously unbeaten Sylacauga at home on Thursday.
Bethany White assisted on two of the goals. Savannah Johnson and Clare Wilson each had one assist. Lauren Beverly had 9 saves in goal for Catholic.

Updated at 5:35 pm on February 25, 2018

Saint James defeated LAMP in the Brew Tech tournament 6-2 with Macie Wilson picking up the win on the mound. Virginia Williams came in relief in the final inning. Ellie Streeton and Maddox Trumbly both hit safely for the Trojans. In the tournament championship Saint James whipped Catholic 6-2. Savannah Christian was the winning pitcher and limited the Knights to 4 hits. Wilson was 2/2 with a double and a single. Morgan Parish laid down a key bunt to land on third and start a Trojan rally. The Trojans were 5-0 on the weekend.

Updated at 1:15 pm on February 24, 2018

Baseball

Saint James defeated Montgomery Academy 10-2 in the first half of a

The Trojans Shawn Woodson got things going for Saint James with a lead off homer in the first inning. (Photo: Art Parker)

double header Friday (Feb 23). Carson Howard got the win on the mound and also produces a pair of RBI’s for the Trojans. Howard pitched 5 innings allowing 3 hits, a single earned run with 4 strikeouts. Shaw Woodson led off the top of the first with a solo home run.

MA’s Mac Main slides safely into home in the third inning to put the Eagles on the board in game one. (Photo: Art Parker)

The Trojans whipped the Eagles 6-2 in the second game. Tyler Robertson led Saint James by going for 4 – 4 with a double, triple and a run batted in. Howard added 2 hits and a run driven home. Mitchell Madore got the win on the mound. The Trojans are now 3-1. MA is 1-2.

Alabama Christian scored 4 runs in the fourth inning and 5 runs in the 5th inning to defeat Brew Tech 10-8 in the first game of a double header Friday (Feb 23). Reece Solar started the scoring in the fourth inning when he singled home Preston Perry. After Solar stole second, Garrett Cottingham drove him across the plate. Later in the inning, John Thompson singled and Cottingham scored on a throwing error. In the 5th inning, the Eagles scored five runs as the Rams walked five Eagle batters and hit three more. Taylor Hackett came on in relief of starter Perry to get the win. Ford Hilyer pitched the 7th inning, striking out one, to record the save. At the plate, Hilyer doubled and had an RBI. Jackson Hibbard, Campbell Mock, Austin White, Perry, Solar, Cottingham and Thompson all had one RBI.

In the second game, the Eagles managed to out slug the Rams and held on for an 11-10 win. ACA scored half a dozen runs on just 3 hits in the bottom of the first inning. Hilyer doubled home Hibbard and the next batter, Grayson Evans, doubled driving in Hilyer. The Eagles continued their hot hitting in the third inning scoring 4 runs on 5 hits. Evans doubled again and drove in a pair of Eagles in the inning. Solar also doubled, his second of the game, plating an Eagle. Hilyer, Garrett Weedon, and Taylor Manning also had hits in the big inning. Mesaris got the win in relief, throwing 1 2/3 innings, striking out three. John Thompson pitched 3 1/3 innings, surrendering only 2 hits while striking out 5 batters. Mock recorded the last two outs of the game for the save. ACA remains undefeated at 5-0.

Macon East defeated Morgan Academy 8-2 with a big 5 run sixth inning. J.C. Ceman, Nate Center, Dustin Jones, and Drew Baker all moved runners across the plate with RBI’s in the inning. Baker took the win for the Knights on the mound. He went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and striking out 7. Zack Kitchens threw 2 innings of relief out of the bullpen. Macon East collected 8 hits. Parker Agnew and Nate Center both went 2 for 3. The Knights didn’t commit a single error in the field. The Knights improve to 7-1.

Macon defeated Bessemer Academy 7-4 on Saturday (Feb 24). Bessemer Academy opened up the game scoring in the first inning, scoring one run. Macon East took the lead for good with 2 runs in the third inning. The Knights scored a trio of runs in the fourth inning. K.C. got the win for the Knights allowing only 3 three hits and 2 runs. Baker, Jones, House, and Agnew and Tucker Neven each managed one hit each. The Knights were 3-0 in the Morgan Tournament and improved to 8-1 on the season.

Softball

Macon East won 4 games on Friday (Feb 23) in the Morgan Academy Tournament. Caroline Capps threw a gem of a shutout in the first game for the Knights in a slim 2-0 victory over Patrician Academy. Capps struck out 8 in 6 innings of work. Capps went 2-for-2 at the plate and the Knights played errorless softball.

Caroline Capps had a big day at the plate and on the mound for Macon East (Photo: Art Parker)

In the second game Taylor McKinney had all the right stuff and shutout Southern Academy 13-0 and fanned a half dozen batters. A big 5 run third inning put the Knights safely ahead. In that inning Madisyn Kennedy, Dawn Johnson, T.J. James, Breann Morrison and Capps all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning. The Knights had 12 hits in the game and was errorless in the field.

Macon-East its will over Monroe Academy on their way to an easy 16-1 in the third game. Capps was on the mound again and gave up only 2 hits. McKinney and James both hit round trippers. The Knights collected 14 hits in the runaway victory. Kadence Ward had multiple hits in the game.

McKinney made her second appearance on the mound and coasted to another shutout as the Knights crushed Russell Christian Academy by a score of 9-0. Macon-East tallied four runs in the second inning. McKinney and Johnson all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning. Emi Lott, Johnson, Morrison, McKinney, and Kayle Bell each collected a hit.

Boys soccer

The Catholic boys ended their marathon of games (7 in 7 days) with a loss to last season’s Final Four team Andalusia, 2-1. Peter Garland finished the penalty after Braxton Rogers won the Knights a penalty kick. The Knights had lots of chances, but the Andalusian goalkeeper had a splendid game.

Baseball

Macon East Academy took home a 7-5 victory over Monroe

Macon ‘s J.C. Ceman had a key hit that helped the Knights take the victory. (File photo)

Academy (Feb 22). Monroe held an early lead in the first inning scoring on a sacrifice fly. Macon took the lead for good with a 3 run homer by Kellen Ward in the top of the third inning. The Knights put up 3 more runs in the top of the fifth inning. The big inning was driven by a sacrifice fly by K.C. House and a double by J. C.

Ceman. Parker Agnew took the win for Macon East. He went 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 4. Tucker Neven was flawless at the plate going 2 for 2. Macon East improved to 6-1 on the season.

Trinity lost to Brewtech 4 to 3 (Feb 22). The Wildcats had only 3 hits. Trinity now stands at 0-2.

Montgomery Academy won its season opener (Feb 20) by

MA’s Brown Simmons went 3 for 4 in the Eagles win over Catholic. (File photo)

scoring 8 runs in bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead over Catholic and eventually win 10-6. Brown Simmons went 3 for 4 with 4 runs batted in. Thomas Rutland got the win on the mound.

ACA scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday (Feb 22) to take the lead and held on to defeat Wetumpka 5-4. ACA starter Grayson Evans allowed only one earned run over six innings to pick up the win. Evans struck out 3 and did not walk a batter. Dalton Mesaris pitched the seventh inning to earn his first save of the year. Left fielder Austin White tripled and singled, each with two outs, to push across runs for the Eagles. Ford Hilyer had a double and a single and Jackson Hibbard had two hits to help fuel the Eagle offense. ACA improves to 3-0 on the year.

Softball

BrewTech beat Saint James 2-0 in the season opener for both teams Thursday night (2/22/18). Trojan Macie Wilson (JR) made her debut on the mound after transferring from BrewTech and sitting out last year. Wilson took the loss, pitching 5 1/3 innings with 7 strike-outs. Savannah Christian came in to relieve for 1 2/3 innings. Ram’s Romona McLeod was the winning pitcher throwing 4 strike-outs and scoring one run while Mackenzie Wilson scored the other.

Alabama Christian defeated Prattville in extra innings Thursday (Feb 22) to defeat Prattville 4-3 in its season opener. The game was tied at three with ACA batting in the top of the ninth when Rose Costanza’s sacrifice fly scored the winning run.

Haley Pittman got the win for the Eagles. She allowed no hits

ACA’s Rose Costanza’s sacrifice fly proved to be the difference in the Eagles win over Prattville. (File photo)

and no runs over 2 innings, striking out five without walking a batter.

Lacey Spear started the game for ACA. She surrendered a pair of runs on 6 hits over seven innings, striking out 9 and walking only one.

The Eagles had 4 hits. Pittman and Natalie Faulkner all managed multiple hits for ACA.

Boys soccer

Catholic battled to a 2-2 tie with Opelika Thursday night (Feb 22). All goals were scored in the second half. Michael Russo opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Braxton Rogers was fouled in the box. Opelika then got their own penalty kick and also scored on a deflected free kick. With three minutes left, Knights Captain Daniel Reeves assisted on a Peter Garland header. Catholic is now 1-3-3 on the season.

Catholic finished fourth in the Central Phenix City Tournament on Thursday (Feb 22) with a team score of 373. Smith’s Station won the event with a team score of 330. Catholic’s Grant Smith took top individual honors with a 75.

Brock Taunton went 1 for 3 with 3 RBI’s and also scored the winning run on a passed ball. Overall the Macon East Knights had 11 hits, 1 error, and 11 stolen bases. Macon is now 5-1 for the season.

Trinity lost its opener to Andalusia on the road 3 to 2. Leading hitter for Trinity was Camden Lovrich going 2 for 4 with a pair of runs batted in. Nolan Sasser scored 2 runs.

Alabama Christian Academy opened the season with a double header sweep of Reeltown on Tuesday (Feb 20). ACA took the first game 12-2. Ford Hilyer and Dalton Mesaris combined for a no-hitter for the Eagles. Hilyer fanned 6 batters in the process. Jackson Hibbard stole a pair of bases and had 2 hits. Grayson Evans was 2 for 3 and drove home a couple of runs. Preston Perry also drove home a couple of runs on 2 hits and Reece Solar had 2 hits and drove in a trio of Eagles.

ACA took the second game 7-1 with Campbell Mock picking up the win on the mound. Mock struck out 3 batters. Hibbard had a pair of hits and swiped 3 bases while Evans drove in 4 runs on 2 hits.

Softball

Macon-East Academy was victorious over Hooper Academy, 6-2. In the first inning, Macon got their offense started. Caroline Capps led things off on the rubber for Macon. She lasted seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one. Macon tallied 11 hits in the game. Madisyn Kennedy, Taylor McKinney, and Kayle Bell each racked up multiple hits for Macon. Kennedy went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Macon.

Boys Soccer

Trinity and Catholic battled to a 2-2 on Tuesday (Feb 20). For the Wildcats, Scott Chestnutt and James Handy scored goals for the Wildcats. Luke Adams is credited with an assist. For the Knights, Peter Garland and Michael Russo scored and Daniel Reeves is credited with an assist.

Baseball

Saint James opened the 2017 baseball season by hosting the Wetumpka Indians Monday afternoon (Feb 19).

Saint James’ T.R. Robertson cooly tags out an Indian attempting to steal second base. Robertson was the winning pitcher in the first game. (Photo: Art Parker)

Saint James took the first game 2-0 as T.R. Robertson and Carson Howard combined on a 5 hit shutout with Robertson getting the win and Howard a 2 inning save. Saint James manufactured single runs in the third and sixth innings. In the third, off losing pitcher Jason Duer, Shaw Woodson led off with a walk and Howard singled him to second. Each runner advanced on a Robertson fly ball to center, and Woodson scored on a groundout to second by Matthew Robinson. Mitchell Madore led off with a walk and advanced to second on a bunt by Jackson Howard. A single by Josh Garnett advanced Madore to third, and after a walk loaded the bases, Madore scored on a sacrifice line out to right field.

Mitchell Madore pitched very well for the Trojans despite losing the second game to Wetumpka 1-0. (Photo: Art Parker)

Wetumpka had scoring opportunities in the fourth and sixth innings. The Indians loaded the bases with one out in the fourth out but consecutive strike outs by Robertson, two of the six he struck out. Carson Howard gave up two hits in the sixth inning, but no one could drive them in.

It was the Indians winning the second game with a shut, 1-0. Madore pitched a complete game for the Trojans despite taking the loss. Wetumpka’s only run of the day was an unearned run in the third inning. Kaleb Hines led off with a walk and stole second base. After a pop out and a strike out, Joe Holbert reached first on a strike out wild pitch, with Hines advancing to third and eventual

ly scored.

Wetumpka was one out from a combined no-hitter with Hayden Shepherd pitching a handful no hit innings with 8 strikeouts. Jon Holbert got the save, but gave up a two out single to Jackson Hammock in the bottom of the seventh to end the no-hit threat. Madore was a hard luck loser for the Trojans, pitching a complete game two hitter and giving up only one unearned run with four strikeouts.

innings for the save. Dustin Jones went 2 for 3 at the plate and Baker was 2 for 2. The Knights are now 4-1 for the season.

Softball

Macon slaughters Ft. Dale

Madisyn Kennedy showed timely hitting on Monday, Feb 19, driving in six on three hits to lead Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity past Fort Dale Academy 17-1 on Monday. Kennedy drove in runs on a double in the first, a double in the fifth, and a double in the sixth.

McKinney was on the mound for Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity. She went six innings, allowing one run on five hits, striking out five and walking zero.

Macon-East racked up 16 hits in the game. Capps, Kennedy, Dawn Johnson, and Morrison each had multiple hits for Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity. Capps went 4-for-5 at the plate to lead Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity in hits.

In game two, Caroline Capps didn’t allow a single hit as Macon-East Academy Knights Varsity defeated Fort Dale Academy 16-0 on Monday. The Knights were boosted by Johnson who went 4-for-4 at the plate. Johnson doubled in the first, doubled in the second, doubled in the third, and singled in the fourth. The Knights tallied 8 runs in the second inning. Doubles by McKinney, Johnson, McKee, Kadence Ward, and a single by Kayle Bell greatly damaged Ft. Dale. Capps lasted 4 innings, allowing no hits or runs striking out 5 batters. Macon collected 17 hits on the day.

The Eagles then traveled north to face one of the finest 6A programs in the state, Jasper High School. MA was narrowly defeated 5-4. Torbert, Robertson and Davis

Updated at 8:45 pm on February 16, 2018

Baseball

Edgewood Young ‘Uns upset Macon East

By ART PARKER

A youthful Edgewood Academy team defeated defending state champion Macon East on Thursday 7-6 in extra innings. Sophomore Landon Maynard had the game winning RBI on a bunt in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Freshmen Drez Crawford scored the game winning run and delivered a pair of hits and drove a run across for the Wildcats.

Sophomore Luke Sisson was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Matt Williams. Sisson fanned trio of Knights and gave up 3 hits. Williams started the game and struck out 4 batters.

The young Wildcats team started 3 freshman and 4 sophomores. “I was extremely proud of the effort our guys gave in overcoming so much adversity that we put on ourselves,” Wildcats coach Eric Folmar said. “After giving up six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning a lot of teams would have packed it in and quit. But not these young guys we have. They fought back and got the win over a very good Macon East team.”

The Wildcats are 3-2 and play arch rival Autauga Academy at noon Saturday.

Before losing to Edgewood, AISA defending state champs Macon East clobbered Eastwood Academy 11-1 to start the baseball season. Drew Baker got the win on the mound and only surrendered one hit. Baker also collected a pair of hits and drove a run home. Dustin Jones had a hit and 2 RBI and Dawson Strickland had 2 hits and 2 RBI.Macon East won its first three games of the season.

The Knights then defeated Chambers Academy with ease in a doubleheader with ease, 7-1 and 16-3. Nick Fitzgerald took the win in the first game and notched 5 strikeouts. Baker had a pair of hits including a double and drove home a trio of base runners. J.C. Ceman had 3 hits including a double and pushed opne run over the plate. Jones had 2 hits and drove in a run.

The Knights won the second game with Jalen Howard on the mound, who struck out 2 batters. Kellen Ward had the big stick for the Knights with 3 hits including a double and a home run while driving 6 runners across the plate. Ceman also had 2 hits and a run batted in.

Softball

Macon East whipped Edgewood in a double header on Thursday. The Knights took the first game 15-1. Caroline Capps had 2 strike outs and gave up only one hit. She also had 2 hits. Dawn Johnson had a Grand Slam and TJ James added another home run right

Macon freshman Taylor McKinney hit a home run and was the winning pitcher in game two against Edgewood. (Photo: Art Parker)

after. Madisyn Kennedy was 3 of 4 from the plate. The Knights shut out the Wildcats in game two 8-0. Taylor Mckinney had 2 strikeouts and gave up only one hit. She also had 3 hits with a homerun. Madisyn Kennedy had 3 hits with a grand slam.

The Trinity girls tennis team lost to Houston Academy of Dothan by the score 5-4. After losing all 3 doubles, each by the score 10-8, the Lady Wildcats came back and won 4 of the 6 singles. Singles winners for Trinity were #1 Emma Beth Teel, # 3, Caroline Easterling, #5 Katie Scott, and # 6 Drue Walker. Trinity plays Prattville Christian on Thursday at Lagoon.